


Stop blowing holes in my ship

by floranaconda



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Coffee Shop, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, M/M, barista!cas, businessman!dean
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2014-09-24
Packaged: 2018-01-01 19:12:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1047567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floranaconda/pseuds/floranaconda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Dean's date doesn't turn up, he's left talking to the barista in the coffee shop</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The air outside the impala was icy and as Dean breathed in, he could feel the cold slicing down his throat. Shivering, he wrapped his arms around himself and hunching over in protection from the brittle wind, rushed into the inviting coffee shop.

It was bright and warm inside and his cheeks were flushing at the sudden contrast in temperature. Empty tables were dotted around, each with a lace tablecloth and cushioned chairs and the walls were a sickly shade of pink. The counter was covered in plates of iced cupcakes and the drinks were served in ghastly patterned tea cups. Dean rolled his eyes, it was typical that he would manage to be set up with a girl who'd pick a place like this for a date but he supposed that if it got him laid, it was worth it.

His date, Bela he vaguely remembered she was called, hadn't got here yet so he decided to get some coffee and sit and wait, the only problem being that there was nobody behind the counter to order from.

“Hello?” Dean called, leaning over the counter to peer into the storage room, “Anyone here?”

His calls were rewarded by a dull thud and a sound like hundreds of beads bouncing across the floor and a moment later a flustered man appeared through the doorway. The man was incredibly attractive with brilliantly blue eyes and a slim yet obviously strong frame and he looked completely out of place in the cutesy cafe. Dean had to remind himself that he was on a date and couldn't go asking random guys with highly inappropriate sex hair for their numbers.

“Please accept my apologies for keeping you waiting,” The barista said in a window-breakingly deep voice, “what can I get you?”

“Just coffee thanks” Dean smiled and sneaked a glance at the man's butt when he turned to make the coffee. He was not disappointed with the view.

“You don't look like the kind of guy who'd work here.” he said to the man's back, who turned, holding the coffee and while handing it to Dean, replied

“Well you don't look like the kind of guy who would visit here.”

“I'm not generally” Dean admitted, leaning forward onto the counter as he spoke, “I'm meant to be meeting a date here.”

“Oh, ok” The barista looked away and Dean thought to himself that maybe he'd seen a hint of disappointment in his eyes and tried to suppress the smile it gave him.

“I'm Dean by the way.”

“Castiel.”

“Well it's nice to meet you Castiel, I'll stop bothering you now and go sit down.”

He walked over to a table near the window and stared, forcing himself not to keep glancing at the rugged man who he'd just met. He took a sip of his coffee, it was good but hot and he winced as he swallowed it down. Thankfully Castiel didn't seem to have noticed as he was fiddling with the coffee machine and there was still nobody else in the coffee shop to have seen.

That made Dean wonder, why was there no one else there? His date should have arrived 10 minutes ago but there wasn't anyone around. Maybe she'd got the wrong time? Or maybe she'd decided not to come after all. Dean felt a little strange about the twinge of hope that thought inspired but elected to ignore it.

Whilst Dean was absent mindedly drinking his coffee and mulling over the absence of his date, the bell above the door sounded and a woman walked inside. She was definitely attractive, and she walked with purpose, like she owned the place. Maybe this was Bela?

It didn't seem like it though because instead of ordering a drink she lifted up partition and went behind the counter. Well, that explained why she looked as if she owned the place, she probably did. Although, she too looked out of place amongst the frills.

-

Castiel made a disgruntled noise as Anna nudged him.

“Go talk to him.”

“He's here on a date and don't be so loud.” He hissed back at her.

“Doesn't look like he's with anyone” She whispered before winking at him and walking off into the store room.

Castiel looked over at Dean who was watching the sky through the window. He was cradling the fake china cup that looked almost comical in his hands and his brown leather jacket had been removed and slung over the back of his chair. Suddenly, Dean looked over and their eyes met. It was an awkward moment that had Castiel's heart beating in double time and ended at the sound of Anna's voice.

“Castiel, why are there coffee beans all over the floor?” He felt his cheeks go red as he turned towards the storeroom but before he looked away he caught sight of Dean smirking into his coffee.

“Uh, I'm sorry, I'll clean them up!” He called through the doorway to which Anna sighed,

“No, you stay through there, I'll do it. You'll just end up making even more of a mess.”

-

It had been almost half an hour since Dean was meant to meet Bela and he was still sat alone in an empty cafe and he'd finished his coffee. He sighed and swirled the coffee dregs around his cup before lifting himself up and walking over to the counter where Castiel looked up and smiled at him.

“So, it looks like my date's not turning up” He said, placing the empty cup onto the counter.

“I'm sorry” Cas replied.

“Nah it's fine, never even met her anyway.” Castiel looked perplexed at this and Dean couldn't help but notice how adorable he looked when confused. Wait a minute, adorable? Dean Winchester didn't think anyone looked adorable. Pretty or Handsome, sure. Sexy, definitely. But adorable? No, that just didn't happen.

“How did you arrange a date without meeting the woman beforehand?”

Dean laughed, “My friend Jo set us up, she'd met her at a bar and she thought I'd like her. Apparently she was 'impetuous'. I'm not sure what she meant by that.”

“Ah, I see. She sounds like an interesting character.”

Before Dean could reply, the woman who had walked through earlier came out from the storeroom.

“I don't understand how you managed to spread those coffee beans so far. I never thought I'd be cleaning up coffee from behind the dish washer.”

“My apologies, I was startled.”

Dean grinned, “was that what the noise was when I walked in?”

“That would make sense,” the red-headed woman said “Castiel does have a habit of dropping things when in the presence of attractive men.”

“Anna...” Cas said warningly as his cheeks flamed red but Anna just smiled in return. Dean felt himself standing up a little straighter at the idea of Castiel liking guys but decided not to say anything on it.

“So your name's Anna then, huh?”

“Yes, and yours is?” she inquired

“Dean”

“Weren't you here on a date Dean?” Anna asked, looking around the empty coffee shop as if searching for Dean's missing date.

“Aww, you been talking about me Cas?”

“Anna queried about you and I answered, that is all.” Dean noted that he purposefully didn't look at him while he spoke and inwardly smiled.

“Wait,” Castiel continued, “...Cas?” Now it was Dean's turn to look embarrassed but he attempted to cover it up with a cocky grin.

“Well, Castiel takes so much effort. You don't mind, do you?”

“No, of course not” Dean felt himself relax at Cas' words “It's nice”

He looked as if he were about to say something more but before he could, Anna interrupted.

“I've got a dishwasher to fill, so I'm gonna leave you two to your, whatever your doing.” And with that, she returned to the back. Dean looked back at Cas and after thinking yet again, how damn good Cas looked, he said;

“I should get off. My brother's coming up from Stanford today and I've gotta meet him at the airport. It was good meeting you though Cas. See you around.” Dean winked and his insides squirmed at the faint red glow that appeared on Cas' face.

“Yeah, see you”

They smiled at each other and then Dean walked reluctantly to the door and left the coffee shop, maybe his non-existent date hadn't been so much of a disaster after all. He'd definitely be visiting there again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Most of this chapter has been written whilst half asleep so I'm sorry if it's not that great, still, I hope you enjoy it

Dean often found working at Sandover Bridge and Iron inc. made him restless and irritable but today was worse than usual. Everything was infuriating, the constant calls, the mountains of paperwork, the few seconds it took to turn on his computer that felt like an eternity. His mind couldn't focus on his work because it was filled with thoughts of the coffee shop and Cas and well, Cas.

But you see, Dean didn't do that. He didn't meet someone and then spend the next day imagining all the different scenarios for the next time they saw each other, ranging from Dean entering the coffee shop to be met with a radiant smile and a long flirty conversation to pulling him across the counter and kissing him till his lips are bruised and moans are drawing out of his mouth and then being dragged into the storeroom and- Stop.

He shifted in his seat, his clothing felt a little tighter and more constricting than a moment before but before he could think any more on it, Jo the intern, walked into the office.

“You look pretty stressed” she pointed out as she walked over and placed a pile of paperwork onto his desk, “I'd leave this for now if I were you, go out and get some coffee.”

Dean perked up a little at the mention of getting coffee. He normally would go to the starbucks across the street however today the idea of the independent coffee shop he'd visited the day before seemed more appealing. Yes, it was a bit more of a walk but he could do with a little fresh air to calm him down from his sudden train of thought.

“I like your thinking.” Dean replied and immediately lifted himself out of his chair and slipped his jacket on. “Thanks Jo”

 

The pavement was gunmetal grey and each of Dean's footsteps hit down on the flagstones in perfect timing with his heart. His rhythmical walking allowed him to zone out so the passing cars flew by without acknowledgement and pedestrians were simply blurs in his peripheral. So lost he was in his own world, that the soft glow of the coffee shop interior was just on the other side of a door by the time he came back to reality and suddenly he was struck with doubt.

He didn't know if Cas was attracted to him. Hell, he didn't know if Cas was even attracted to his gender. Wasn't it desperate and embarrassing for Dean to be coming back so soon? He pushed those thoughts out of his head though, he really wanted some coffee and it wasn't like he was going to be asking Cas out. He'd just have to go in, order a drink and then get back to work. Sure, if he was lucky then he'd get to have a conversation with Cas but if not, he'd still get to see him and he'd still have his well needed caffeine fix.

The bell above the door sounded as he shoved it open and stepped over the threshold. To his disappointment, Anna was stood behind the counter preparing a drink for a customer. And she was alone. With half the mind to leave and find somewhere with cheaper coffee, Dean walked over to the counter. At the sight of him, Anna smiled.

“Hey Dean, what can I get you?”

“I could kill for some coffee right now” Dean leaned forward onto the counter, trying to subtly check if Cas was hidden away in the storeroom.

“Coffee it is,” Anna picked out a cup and grabbed the jar of coffee beans off a wooden shelf. She then looked back at Dean who had taken advantage of her being distracted and was craning his neck to see into the back. “Cas isn't here yet.”

Dean pulled back, his cheeks flushing crimson. “I, uh, I wasn't looking for-”

“Don't worry, I won't tell him about your huge crush.”

“I don't have a huge crush on him.” Dean could see that Anna hadn't believed his obvious lie but he was grateful when she didn't press it any further, leaving it at just a knowing look.

When the coffee was done, Dean thanked her and was about to go take a seat when the door opened and in walked Cas. His hair had been swept about by the wind and Dean gulped at the sight of him and purposefully looked away. Cas hesitated by the entrance for a moment when he saw Dean before walking over and stepping behind the counter.

“Hello Anna. Hello Dean.” He grabbed an apron off the hook on the storeroom door and Dean watched appreciatively as he lifted his arms, revealing his muscles. Anna smirked at him.

“Hey” Dean finally replied which was met with a half smile.

 

Instead of going and sitting at a table like he had planned, Dean stayed at the counter to talk. Anna and Cas, it turned out, were half brother and sister. They had the same father but different mothers. The coffee shop belonged to Anna's mother but she had gone travelling for the year so Anna had agreed to look after the shop whilst she was away. All of this, Dean learnt from Anna who seemed more than happy to stand and talk rather than get on with any of the jobs that needed doing. Cas however was acting very differently to how he had the day before.

Dean was a little confused actually. Sure, the short conversation he and Cas had had the day before didn't show that he was interested, but Dean couldn't work out what he'd done to deserve the cold treatment Cas was giving him now. It was more than just not participating in conversation, he was actively avoiding it, if ever Dean directed a comment towards Cas, he would reply in a monosyllabic and disinterested manner however if Anna spoke to him, he acted normally. Dean was feeling quite disheartened.

 

“Shit!” Dean exclaimed as he looked at his watch, “I was meant to be back at work ages ago.”

After saying a quick goodbye, Dean hurried out of the coffee shop and speed walked back to the company building, hoping that his prolonged absence hadn't been noticed.

Luckily, nobody commented on his disappearance so he settled back down in his chair and started to work on the paperwork Jo had brought him earlier on. It was dull and as the hours dragged on, Dean felt all of his spirit slowly ebb away and by the time the work day had finished he wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep for a very long time. So that's what he did.

-

It was the fourth time Dean had been into the coffee shop since his non-existent date and Cas had remained withdrawn the entire time. Dean and Anna were becoming pretty close friends and Dean looked forward to his daily conversations with her in his lunch hour despite Cas' lack of participation.

Today, was Cas' day off and Dean took the chance to ask Anna the question that had been bugging him for the last four days.

“”Why is it that Cas doesn't like me?”

Anna didn't answer at first, instead she looked at Dean with a conflicted expression but in the end she sighed and said,

“You have to promise that you won't let him know I said this” Anna looked so serious that Dean almost changed his mind about wanting to know, fearful that it would be something awful.

“Cross my heart”

“He does like you.” Well, that makes perfect sense, Dean thought.

“If he likes me, why does he act so much like he doesn't?”

“No, you misunderstand. He _likes_ you.”At this Dean choked out a laugh of disbelief. “I'm only telling you this because you make it pretty damn obvious that you're into him too. But I want you to know, I like you Dean, I do, but if you hurt my brother, I will hunt you down and skin you.” She finished with a smile and Dean gulped.

-

Dean hadn't been in the coffee shop in three days and Cas was starting to worry that he wouldn't return. Sure, it wasn't like Cas actually spoke to him much, he didn't trust himself not to get too attached, not that he hadn't already done that but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed sneaking glances at him when he wasn't looking. It didn't seem like he'd be doing that any more though, he thought as he flipped the sign on the door to closed. He wondered what had happened, it was obvious that Dean was seriously into Anna, why else would he come in every day to talk to her? Maybe he'd found out about her preferences in gender and was now avoiding her.

He didn't know why he felt so disappointed, he'd always known that nothing would ever happen between him and the beautiful man he'd started to get accustomed to creepily staring at but still he felt the absence of Dean in every moment he worked. Before he and Anna left the shop for the night, Cas decided to ask her;

“Do you know why Dean hasn't come in recently?” He tried to come across as casual but he could feel his cheeks flushing as he asked.

“Uhh...”

“Anna?” Cas didn't like the guilty look on Anna's face

“Well, I might have maybe told him” Dread and panic rushed through Cas as the meaning of Anna's words sunk in but it was quickly replaced by anger.

“You told him?” He asked, his voice murderous. So he wasn't avoiding Anna then, Cas thought to himself, he was avoiding me. I freaked him out with my stupid affections and now I'll never see him again.

“I'm so sorry! I thought he liked you too, I never thought he'd freak out. I'm sorry.” Cas' expression didn't soften as he turned and stormed out the door. Sighing, Anna pulled off her apron and dragged herself up to her apartment. She regretted telling Dean and was hoping that maybe, Cas would forgive her.


	3. Chapter 3

Dean was starting to feel the effect of the alcohol. It was the last night of the business retreat and Charlie and Jo had cornered him at the bar and convinced him to take part in a drinking game. The three of them were now huddled around a table in the corner, listening to Charlie tell the story of her latest conquest. Once she'd finished, she and Jo turned on Dean.

“So Deaan” Charlie started, dragging out the vowels in his name, “You got your eyes on anyone?”

“Uh, no”

“What about that girl you've been sneaking out to see every day? What, you thought I didn't notice, Winchester?” Jo asked.

“I've not been going to see any girl” With the help of alcohol, he honestly believed that that would throw his best friends of the scent but even with the excuse of tequila, he should have known better than to underestimate them. 

“So who then? You been going to see a man?” she slurred jokily to which Dean flushed bright red and didn't reply.

“Oh my god!” Charlie exclaimed and Dean hid his head in his arms “Who is he?”

“He's called Castiel” Dean gave in but refused to lift his head so it came out muffled but apparently coherent enough to spur Charlie on.

“Have you asked him out yet? Is he cute? Is he gay?” Charlie asked, leaving Dean no time to answer between each question. "Are you gay?" 

Dean's head flew up at the final question as he felt an irrational need to defend himself.

“No, I'm not gay! I just sometimes like men.” He replied a little louder than he meant to and a few people on surrounding tables looked round in curiosity causing Dean's blush to darken.

“I thought he was straight,” He continued at a lower volume, “But his sister told me that he's into me so I guess he's not?”

“You have to ask him out!” Charlie was getting passionate about the idea and her cheeks were glowing the same colour as her hair, making her give off the illusion of a human strawberry.

“I'm not sure, I only just met the guy”

“Aww was it love a first sight?”

“Shut up Jo”

The conversation moved on but Dean stayed silent, thinking about the next day when he arrived home and could make a visit to the coffee shop. He was lost in a thought about kissing Cas and the feel of his lips before he was brought back to reality by a nudge from Charlie.

“We're going back to our rooms, gotta get up early for the plane back tomorrow. We'll catch you later.”

“Yeah alright”

Dean sat back in his seat and took a swig of his beer, his thoughts returning to Castiel. He wondered if Cas was working the next day, it was a Sunday so he wasn't even certain they'd be open at all. He took out his phone and texted Anna,

You're open tomorrow, right?

He stayed at the table for another 15 minutes before deciding to go to bed, Anna still hadn't replied but it was late so she probably was asleep.

-

Anna still hadn't responded by the time Dean arrived back at his apartment in the early afternoon the next day. She didn't normally take this long but Dean didn't think anything of it and once he'd showered and changed his clothes, he got into the impala and set off for the coffee shop.

It was cold and he wrapped his arms around himself as he exited the car and sped over to the door. Cas was stood behind the counter, cleaning the coffee machine and he didn't look up until Dean arrived at the counter.

“Dean” Cas gasped and Dean grinned at him.

“Hey”

“What are you doing here? I mean, can I get you anything?”

Cas' eyes were so freaking blue and the darker outline of his iris made the colour stand out even more. How anyone with eyes that blue could drag themselves away from the mirror and into work was a mystery, Dean was pretty sure he couldn't stop looking at them if he tried.

“Dean?” He jumped at Cas' voice and realised he'd been staring.

“Sorry, uh, just black coffee” Dean's nerves were starting to catch up with him, his palms were sweating and he could feel his insides tightening. Now he was here, he wasn't sure how to bring up what Anna had told him. But as it turned out, he didn't need to, because Cas got there first.

“So, Anna told me what she said to you” Dean felt his throat constrict and dammit he never got this nervous. He was about to reply but Cas continued before he could form words. “I just thought I should let you know that she was joking, she does that. I think she was getting me back for something I did a while ago so you don't need to worry about it.”

“Oh” Dean felt himself deflate but forced a smile onto his face. “That's cool, just a misunderstanding. Would've been kind of awkward otherwise right?”

“...Yeah” Cas murmured in reply “Anyway here's your coffee, I must get back to cleaning the machine.”

“Right.”

-

Cas had been cleaning the same part of the espresso machine for a good 5 minutes but he wasn't paying any attention to what he was doing. He'd been completely taken aback by the appearance of Dean and was feeling pretty bitter about how happy he'd seemed when he'd told him he didn't want him like that.

How dare he come in with his stupid face and drink his stupid black coffee if he didn't want Cas? How dare he go and sit at a table by himself instead of staying and talking like he did with Anna, even if Cas had obviously dismissed him? Fuck Dean Winchester and his perfect features and freakishly green eyes. Cas didn't want him and he certainly didn't need him.

He looked over at Dean. He was sat in a seat by the window, staring at some random point in the sky and cradling his cup in his hands. His face was blank and his eyes glazed but Cas could swear he looked almost sad.

Suddenly he got up and made to leave. Along the way he dumped the still full coffee cup on the counter without saying anything but a cool thanks. Castiel couldn't understand what had upset Dean now. He'd figured that once he thought of Cas as straight then he'd stop freaking out, but then again, Cas hadn't exactly been friendly with Dean up until this point. Maybe he just didn't like him. Cas was left behind the counter feeling confused and upset as the coffee shop door slammed closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's kind of short and angsty, I promise you that it will cheer up again soon :) I hope you enjoyed it though!


	4. Chapter 4

“Dean, seriously, it's been nearly a week, you cannot keep moping about in your apartment. I'm coming over tomorrow and you're telling me what's going on.”

Dean was holding the phone away from his ear as Sam ranted down it at him. He was lying face down on his bed in his boxers, clutching his phone in one hand and an almost empty beer bottle in the other.

“Dude, I'm fine, you don't need to come all the way from Stanford just to find that out.”

“Dean, I can practically smell the alcohol on you from here!” Dean groaned and sloppily placed the beer bottle onto the side table, accidentally tipping it on its side in the process and spilling the remaining alcohol onto the floor.

“I'm fine!”

“Whatever Dean, I'm still visiting.”

With that Sam hung up and Dean dropped his phone onto the bed and heaved himself into sitting position before flopping back down. He hadn't been to work since he had come back from the business retreat, instead he'd called in sick and left Jo to sort out whatever she could but he was dreading the mountain of work he'd have when he returned.

He didn't know why he was so bothered about the whole Cas ordeal but since their last conversation, Dean hadn't been able to find the motivation to get out of bed, let alone go to work. But seeing as Sam was insisting on coming to visit, Dean figured he should probably at least shower before he arrived so after a few more minutes of lying there, he finally pulled himself up and dragged himself into the bathroom.

The shower was refreshing and once he got out, he felt marginally better than he had earlier. That was the extent of his progress for the night however as after he dried himself, he called for takeaway and crawled back into his bed.

 

The next day he was awoken by a loud knocking at the door and the sound of someone calling his name. Blearily, he walked over to the door and pulled it open.

“Sammy?”

“Alright, get dressed.” Sam's huge, plaid clad body pushed its way into the front room of Dean's apartment where he stopped and looked around in disgust.

“You've been living like this?”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Dean replied indignantly

“It stinks in here Dean.” His nose was wrinkled up like a child's and it reminded Dean of the time they'd been playing out in the fields in Kansas and Sam had got mud between his toes. He was pulling the same face now as he had then.

“I'm sorry, I've been to busy crying along to the notebook to clean up, that's why you're here isn't it?”

Sam rolled his eyes, “You don't need to act so shut in all the time, I know you're feeling like crap. Now get dressed, you're taking me to that damn coffee shop and I'm meeting this dude who's had you holed up in your apartment all week.”

“What? How did you know he's a dude?”

“You think you're the only one Charlie talks to?”

After a fair amount of grumbling, Dean was dressed and following Sam to the car. He really didn't want to see Cas or Anna who was still ignoring his texts, but there was no way Sam was letting this go and Dean could not be bothered with the fight.

-

The bell above the door sounded as a startlingly large man walked through. He was tall and muscled with relatively long hair and next to him was, Cas' heart sped up at the sight, Dean.

Dean looked dishevelled. His messed up hair gave the impression that he had just woken up and his clothes were creased. He had dark shadows under his eyes and Cas was pretty sure he'd put his t shirt on inside-out.

“Hey Cas,” He said in a voice that sounded almost resigned when he reached the counter. “This is my brother Sammy”

Cas and Sam nodded to each other in greeting and the two brothers settled themselves in seats near the counter.

Whilst Cas was preparing coffee for the two brothers, Anna came running down from her apartment with wet hair and no shoes on.

“Dean! I thought I saw you come in. I need to talk to you!” Cas looked over at Dean who looked completely startled by Anna's sudden appearance but still followed her upstairs when beckoned. Once they'd gone, he finished making the coffee, now just for one Winchester. When it was done, he turned to see Sam studying him, as if trying to figure something out about him. It made Cas feel a little uncomfortable but he put on a smile as he handed the coffee over.

-

Anna sat Dean down on the other side of the table and glared at him.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She almost shouted.

“What?”

“Don't act innocent. You know what you did.” Anna looked furious and Dean sunk to deeper levels of confusion. “I get that you don't have feelings for Castiel, you've made that clear but why the hell did you run away when I told you?”

“Why does it matter?” Dean replied bitterly “He told me that he doesn't want me like that anyway.”

“And you believed him? Dean, you didn't come in for days after I told you and he found out why. He is obviously going to lie about it.”

“Wait,” Dean was struck with realisation and he dropped his head into his hands at his idiocy, “You think I didn't come in because I was freaked about Cas?”

“Yes...”

“Oh god, I was on a business trip! I've wanted him since the day I walked in here, why the fuck would I run away if I thought he wanted me back?” Dean had stood up whilst he spoke and was holding the back of the chair he'd been sat on, digging his nails into the hard wood.

Anna was looking up at him with a mixture of relief and amusement on her face,

“You idiot”

“Hey, I'm not the one who presumed shit” Dean was smiling now “So he definitely likes me then?”

“Yes! Why are you still standing there?”

Dean ran out of the room and down the stairs.

-

Sam, it turned out, could be very chatty. He'd hardly stopped talking since Dean had left with Anna and Cas took it as a welcome distraction from the conversation he imagined was going on upstairs. He knew that Anna had no interest in Dean but he didn't enjoy thinking about Dean declaring his feelings for another person and he was sure that Dean was falling for Anna. Why else would he bother visiting the coffee shop? It was hardly his kind of place.

“So, what's your opinion on Dean?”

Cas reeled at the sudden question and he scrambled for an acceptable reply.

“He's, uh, pretty cool?” The last two words tasted funny in his mouth and he felt as though they probably sounded bizarre coming from him too but he'd heard others describe people that way and it seemed fitting. Sam was smiling at Cas knowingly and he shifted on his feet, again, feeling a little uncomfortable under the younger Winchester's gaze.

“Yeah, he thinks he is.” Sam laughed “You know what those two are talking about up there?”

“I don't know, I presumed that Dean would be expressing his desire for Anna.” Suddenly, Sam burst out laughing and Cas could not for the life of him understand why.

“You- You think Dean has been coming here to flirt with Anna?” Sam choked out through his howling.

“Has he not?”

“Oh you poor naïve thing.”

Before Cas could reply to Sam's somewhat confusing comment the door to Anna's apartment flew open and Dean came bursting into the room. The few customers, who had just turned away from watching Sam's fit of laughter, all looked back at the sound to see Cas staring at Dean in shock and Sam grinning to himself.

“I was on a business trip” Dean said from the doorway to which Cas cocked his head as he struggled to understand, it appeared both Winchester's had a penchant for being cryptic. 

“That's why I went away,” he continued as he started to walk slowly towards Cas.

Cas' breathing quickened as Dean took each step towards him.

“It isn't because I didn't want you. I do.” He could hear his heart pounding in his head and excitement pouring through his veins. The words that Dean was saying seemed unreal but the way he was closing in on him was possessive, almost predatory.

He was stood immediately in front of him now, close enough for their breath to flit across each others cheeks but Dean showed no desire to stop there.

“I want you Cas” Dean murmured as he leaned in to press his lips against Cas'. There was no firework display but the adrenaline rushing through Cas' veins was close enough and it was only a moment before Cas was kissing back, running his hands round the back of Dean's neck and into his hair. Dean's arms slid around his waist and pulled him in closer.

“Guys, remember you're in public.” Sam sounded awkward and Dean stopped kissing but kept his forehead resting against Cas' with a huge smile on his face.

“Screw you Sammy”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it gets quite cheesy towards the end but hey. I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway :)


	5. Chapter 5

Cas was pretty sure that the last few days had been the best of his life. Dean had come into the coffee shop at his lunch every day and just sat at the counter, chatting and staring into Cas' eyes until a deep red blush would make its way up his neck and cheeks. It had been a perfect mixture of Anna laughing at their total absorption in each other, the smell of coffee between them, Dean smiling at something he said, Dean laughing, the crinkle around Dean's eyes when he was happy, and just Dean, being there across the counter. Dean interested in Cas like Cas had never believed he would be. 

It was just before closing time when Cas was dragged from his daydream by the opening of the coffee shop door. As Cas adjusted to reality, Dean marched over to the counter and slipped through the open gate. Cas protested but Dean ignored him, electing to take hold of his face and kiss him deeply. All objections to Dean trespassing were immediately forgotten. 

“Go grab that dumb trench coat of yours.” Dean whispered through the kiss and Cas pulled back with a perplexed expression. 

“Where are we going?”

“Not sure, I was thinking we could hit a burger joint or something.”

Cas smiled “Hmm taking me out for food. Is this a date?” Dean grabbed Cas' waist and pulled him closer, smiling against his lips.

“Of course it's a date. Now get your coat.” Cas didn't have to be asked twice. Well, apparently he did but twice was definitely enough and before long they were in Dean's impala, the road shooting by beneath the wheels. Cas looked out of the window as they drove, sneaking glances at Dean as they went round corners and quietly laughing at the way his jaw clenched when the cars in front moved too slowly. He thought he was being subtle until Dean turned and asked him what was so funny, Cas had blushed and since then he'd fought to keep a straight face and to keep his eyes on the passing buildings. 

After a while, the buildings started to get farther apart and Cas began to wonder why they hadn't stopped at any of the burger joints they'd passed so far. Even as he wondered this, the buildings and houses were being replaced by fields.

“It's rather curious,” Cas said, focusing his attention back on Dean “that you would tell me we are going to a burger joint, and then drive somewhere without a single building in sight.”

Dean grinned, “Finally catching up are we Cas? Cheap burgers in a crap diner just didn't seem good enough for a first date with you. Figured a guy like you'd want something more, I dunno, profound?”

“Where are we going then?” 

“If I told you, I'd have to kill you” Cas laughed and returned to looking out of the window with a small smile lingering on his lips. 

The landscape was shooting by, a blur of fields and trees and the occasional house. It was beautiful and Cas felt peaceful with the sound of the impala surrounding him and Dean's presence beside him. He felt unbelievably happy just sat in silence because he wasn't just sat looking out a car window. He was sat looking out a car window with Dean Winchester and anything could be fascinating if you added Dean Winchester into the mix.

After another half hour had passed, the landscape started to become more mountainous and Dean turned up a tiny mud track. Cas was jolted about as the car navigated the dips and bumps in the road. They drove a mile up the track before stopping the car in an empty plot of land. 

Dean got out of the car and Cas followed, glancing at his surroundings in curiosity. They were in a woodland area that was seemingly in the middle of nowhere and Cas could not fathom a reason for them being here. He turned to Dean, about to ask why they had stopped here, but found him closer than expected. 

“Look Cas, it's me invading your personal space for once” He murmured before pressing his lips against Cas'. Once he'd pulled away, Cas tried to speak but again was prevented from doing so by Dean's mouth. 

“I'm not telling you what we're doing here yet so don't even try” Cas huffed in irritation but followed Dean to the trunk of the car and was handed a large, heavy bag.

“What's this?”

“Our supplies” Dean replied, a suspicious smirk planted on his face. “Follow me, angel!” He finished with a wink and started off through the trees, following a small winding path uphill. 

The mud on the ground was churned up and tree roots were hidden amongst the slime. Cas, who was still in his work clothes, tried to feel disgruntled at the turn of events but it was to no avail. Instead he was filled with elation at being with Dean and anticipation of the mystery of where they were going and what they were doing.

The two men walked up through the trees as the light faded from the sky. Winter was coming and the night fell early in the evening and a cold breeze picked up, raising goosebumps on their arms. Cas clutched his arms around himself, shivers running through his body and he hoped that they would soon reach their destination. 

Thankfully, before long, the trees thinned out and they came out onto a small plateau, about 20 foot wide. Dean dropped the bag he was holding onto the ground. Cas placed his beside it.

“We're here” Dean announced and Cas looked out at the view. 

It was stunning. The sun was just disappearing below the horizon and was sending out beams of orange and red that set the trees and mountains aglow. They'd come quite far up and could see for miles around, and green and orange leaves glazed the slopes of adjacent mountains and a tiny waterfall glided down a rockier face.

Castiel was awestruck and almost didn't notice when Dean took his hand and they watched view together. A smattering of birds rose up out of a tree, calling out to each other in shrieks before settling back down in their nests for the night. There was very little light left now and Cas was worried about how they would get back through the woods in the dark but before he could voice his worries, Dean spoke up.

“We should set the tent up before we lose all sunlight”

“Wait, tent?” Cas queried “We're staying here?” Dean rolled his eyes at the question

“You think I'd let you walk back through there in the dark?”

“But Dean, I have work tomorrow, if I don't turn up, Anna will not be pleased.”

Dean looked overly proud of himself as he replied, “Trust me, you don't have work tomorrow.” Cas didn't pick up on Dean's meaning however and continued to worry until Dean reassured him

“I asked Anna if you could have tomorrow off you idiot.” He wrapped his arms around Cas' waist and held him close to him. “Now shut up and help me put this tent up.”

-

It turned out, Cas was terrible at assembling tents. He managed get a pole stuck through all the wrong holes before he tripped over a guy rope and knocked it over completely. In the end, Dean had to fix the mess and build the tent himself whilst Cas sat on the grass at the side and watched.

Before the tent was finished, all remaining light had vanished and Cas was required to hold the torch while Dean hammered in the pegs. And then it was built and they carried the bags inside and sat together in the doorway listening to the whispering of the night air.

Dean cracked open a couple of beers and handed one to Cas, they had been kept cold by the outside air and the cans chilled their fingers. It was peaceful and they didn't talk for a while, instead electing to savour each others company. 

For a while, the only sounds were the wind and the trees but then

“I could kill for a sandwich right now, please tell me you thought to bring food.” Dean laughed and reached into the tent for one of the bags.

“Honestly Cas, what do you take me for?” He asked and pulled out two shop bought sandwiches, a massive bag of nachos and, of course, pie. Cas grabbed one of the sandwiches and took a huge bite out of it.

“I could kiss you right now” He mumbled through the mouthful of bread and beef. 

“Yeah,” Dean laughed, eyeing the half chewed food, “maybe later happy meal.”

They got through the food pretty quickly with Dean eating the majority of the pie in the time it took Cas to eat a single slice. The stars were out now and Castiel looked up to them, smiling. 

“You know,” He said quietly, “I sometimes have dreams where I'm up there. I'm one of the stars, a whole cluster of them actually and I can see the entire universe. I can't see physical forms though. I see souls, each one a bright light, so similar yet entirely unique and I can see the movements in the wind and in fire and the sea. And in my dreams I'm so old, I've seen the birth of the first creature on earth and the rise and fall of thousands of civilisations. I've seen the birth and collapse of suns and even galaxies. Billions of souls were burned into my memory and you want to know something funny. In any dream I've ever had, any moment in history I've lived through, I'd never been as happy and never seen anything as beautiful as when I first dreamt of your soul. I feel like I've known you for a billion years Dean Winchester.”

 

-

Dean didn't know what to say. In his entire life, nobody had ever made Dean feel as important as he did then, nobody had ever called him beautiful. At least not when talking about something other than his body. He was entirely dumbstruck and when Castiel's eyes met his, there was nothing he could do but kiss him with everything he had in him,

All his thoughts and emotions went into that kiss. Without words he expressed how much Cas meant to him, how much what he had said meant and Cas kissed back with everything he had too. 

When they pulled apart they were both breathing heavily and had huge grins on their faces. 

“Dammit Cas you sure know how to give a compliment” 

“Well, I do try.”

“You know what,” Dean said solemnly “I think I'm gonna have to pay you back for that.”

He pulled himself onto Cas with one leg on each side of him and whispered into his ear “I'm going to make you come so hard you forget where you are Castiel Novak”

Cas' breathing was irregular as Dean threaded his fingers into his hair and pressed their lips together. The kiss was different this time, it was filled with passion and promise and before long Dean was moving his lips down to kiss along his jawline. When he reached his neck he gently scraped his teeth along the exposed skin which pulled a gasp out of Cas.

Dean shifted his hips closer and felt the bulge in Cas' trousers rub against him, sending ripples of pleasure through him. All of a sudden, Cas had him by the collar and was smashing their mouths together and grinding up against Dean, a quiet groan slipped out of Dean's mouth and felt heat spreading up his neck. 

“Woah, easy tiger” Dean laughed as Cas began to fumble with the buttons on Dean's jeans “I want this to be about you.” He lifted Cas' hands and placed them on his hips before slowly undoing the button on Cas' shirt and kissing down his body as more and more skin was revealed. When the shirt was undone, Dean slid it off his shoulders and gently pushed Cas down so he was lying on his back, then continued on his mission to cover every part of his torso with fleeting kisses. When he reached one of his nipples he sucked lightly and dragged a moan out of Cas.

With the top half of Cas' body satisfactorily attended to, Dean brought his attention to undoing Cas' trousers and slipping a hand down his boxers to caress the sensitive flesh. Cas grabbed fistfuls of the groundsheet and said through gritted teeth,

“Dean, do not tease me”

Dean smiled and winked before pulling the trousers and boxers down to Cas' knees and whistling under his breath.

“Not bad Cas, not bad at all.” Before Cas could reply, Dean ran his tongue along his shaft and Cas cried out, transferring his hands to grip at Dean's hair. 

With one last cocky smile at Cas, Dean took Cas into his mouth and sucked. Cas moaned and Dean started moving his mouth up and down, looking up into Cas' eyes as he worked. Cas lifted his hips, searching to be closer, to feel more of Dean around him and Dean took him in, relishing in the taste of him.

Castiel was close now, he was writhing beneath Dean, digging his nails into his shoulders and pulling at the fabric of his shirt. Dean grunted as Cas thrust into his mouth but he accepted him, speeding up to match the movements of Cas' hips. Though Cas was biting his lip to keep himself quiet, moans were pouring out as he reached his peak. 

“Dean” The name ripped itself from Cas' throat as he emptied himself into Dean's mouth and then slumped back down. Dean swallowed and slid up to lie next to Cas and rest his head on his shoulder.

“You,” Castiel breathed, “are extremely good at that.”

“I know” Dean joked and felt Cas huff with laughter beneath him. They lay together for a while, listening to each other's breathing and when Cas started to stroke Dean's hair, he felt himself slipping into sleep. Just before he blacked out he felt Cas' lips on his forehead and the words “Goodnight Dean” whispered into his hair and then he left Cas to lie and watch the stars through the open doorway of the tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this has taken so long to come out, I've been pretty busy with college work and have had a mild case of writer's block for this chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and please be nice about the ending, this is the first smutty type thing I've ever written so I'd love your opinions of it. Anyway thanks for reading and enjoy :)


	6. Chapter 6

“Alright lover boy, tell us everything.” Jo demanded

It was two days after Dean and Cas' camping trip and Dean, Jo and Charlie were sat around a table in the Roadhouse clutching beers in their hands.

“What is it you want to know?”

“Was it romantic? Did you hold hands and stare into each other's eyes beneath the stars?” Charlie joked.

“Uhh..” Dean blushed and Jo burst out laughing, the golden liquid sloshing out of her bottle and over the table as she rocked forward

“I always knew you were soppy under that manly act of yours”

“Shut up Jo” he muttered but he had an amused smile on his lips.

Jo and Charlie questioned Dean for quite a while, squeezing details of his night in the tent with Cas out of him. When they asked if they'd ventured any further than kissing, a grin spread across his face and he winked at them before describing what they did in far more detail than either of the women wanted.

“Thanks Dean,” Charlie said sarcastically once Dean had finished his story “You just made me picture things I _never_ wanted to picture”

As Dean laughed, a pretty woman with hair the colour of dark sugar sat herself down at their table

“Hello Jo” The woman said

“Hi Bela...” Jo replied with a perplexed expression “Um, this is Dean and Charlie”

Dean stared at Bela, he recognised her name and it only took him a moment to realise where from.

“Aren't you-” he started but was cut off

“The girl who stood you up for a date? Yes and that's why I'm here. I had to skip town for a while, a work related journey but I didn't have time to get word to you, sorry. I was thinking we could try again next weekend, I'm free all night friday.”

“Sorry you missed your chance, I'm taken now” Bela looked disappointed but she smiled at him all the same.

“It was worth a try” She said, standing up and placing her hand on Dean's shoulder as she turned to go.

The three of them watched as Bela left the bar before turning back to each other

“I'm gonna get another round” Dean announced

 

Dean was waiting at the bar when he thought he heard someone say his name but when he looked around he couldn't see anyone he knew. Putting it to the back of his mind he ordered the drinks from Ellen and took them back to the table. Charlie and Jo had started discussing the potential existence of alternate universes and he joined the debate, fighting furiously with Jo about their impossibility.

_Dean!_

He span round, eyes scouring the bar.

“Did you guys just hear....?” He was sure he'd heard someone shouting for him, their voice filled with desperation but nobody else seemed to have noticed anything.

“Hear what, Dean?” Charlie asked, her voice filled with concern.

“Uh, nothing. I've just had to much to drink, I'm hearing shit.” He was reassuring himself as much as anyone else as he settled back down in his chair.

“Dude, that's your second beer..” Jo interjected “I mean, I know I can drink you under the table but even you aren't that much of a lightweight.”

“Right, yeah. I guess I need sleep then, I'm gonna take off” Dean mumbled whilst pulling on his jacket and getting up from the table “Night guys”

The concerned eyes of his two best friends followed him out the door.

-

Dean was fucking fed up.

It was late. He was tired and he'd only had a long enough lunch break to run downstairs and grab a coffee from the machine in the lobby that had the texture of grit. He wouldn't be surprised if there was actual dirt in it.

He was good at his job, damn good at it if his quick progression to such a high position within the company was anything to go by, but that didn't mean he had to like it and the longer he stared at his glaring computer screen, the more he felt that he needed to get out.

He checked the time on his watch, 6pm. Cas would have locked up the coffee shop by now, he might have even reached his apartment and settled down to read a book. Dean pictured it, Cas with his toes curled up beneath him in an armchair, he normally sat in a stiff manner but he imagined that in his home environment he'd relax. He saw the glow of a lamp lighting up his face as his eyes flicked around the page.

Before long Dean was asleep, face on the keyboard and keys pressing indents into his cheek. He didn't notice the beeping coming from his computer but he sprung up, wiping drool from his face, at a knock on the door.

“What is it Jo?” he called out grumpily as he hurried to remove the multiple 'G's his head had typed onto the document he was working on.

The door creaked open and a head poked around the door and it wasn't Jo's.

“Cas!” Dean jumped up, banging his knees on the desk “I wasn't expecting you!”

Cas laughed and fully walked into the office, shutting the door behind him.

“I thought I'd surprise you.”

“Well, it worked” Dean replied as he walked over to Cas, pulled him in by the hips and then gently kissed him. When they pulled back Cas looked confused,

“Dean, what is that on your face?” He asked, running his fingers along the grid the keyboard had left. “Were you asleep?”

Dean blushed and Cas grinned.

“Sleeping at work Dean? What shall we do with you?”

“Hmm” Dean pulled away from Cas and leaned against the desk

“I can think of a few things.” he said with a smirk

Cas had a hungry look in his eyes as he walked up to Dean and pressed their bodies and lips together. Dean could feel himself responding to Cas' proximity and when Cas bit down on his lip, he gasped.

Dean's lifted his hands to lace his fingers in Cas' hair but was stopped and his hands were forced back to his sides. Cas smiled and retreated to the desk chair and Dean was left standing with slightly swollen lips and a growing discomfort in his pants.

He turned to glare at Cas but when he saw him sat with his legs apart and his hand gently caressing the inside of his thigh, all he could do was gape.

“Talk to me”

Dean gulped, was this Cas asking him to talk dirty? In his office? At work? Fuck that was hot. Cas leaned back in the chair and looked up at Dean expectantly. Well if that's what Cas wanted, Dean was not one to resist.

He pulled himself so he was sat on the desk facing Cas

“You want me to tell you what I'd like to do to you, huh? Want me to tell you where I'd touch? Where I'd kiss? Lick? Suck?” He drew out each word, drinking in the way Cas shifted in the chair as he spoke.

“I'd like to take off that shirt you're wearing, button by button, and taste every inch of your chest.” He continued with a smug smile at the reddening of Cas' cheeks. “The way you'd look beneath me as I kiss all over your flawless skin and _fuck_ , those hipbones. I want to take off your pants and feel those hipbones dig into me as I grind against you.”

Cas' hand had moved up his thigh and was starting to rub against his crotch. Dean's voice sounded rougher when he continued.

“Would you like that? Would you like to feel my cock against yours?” A moan fell from Cas' lips and Dean's hand went to the bulge in his pants and he started to move his hand in time with Cas'.

“I'd get you so close, close enough that you're begging for more and then I'd take you in my mouth. I'd suck you so dry all you could do would be scream my name as you come in my mouth. I know how much you like that Castiel” Dean's voice was almost a growl as he said Cas' name “I know how much you like feeling my mouth around your dick, I've heard you moan for me.”

Cas stood up and walked over to Dean and leaned over him, pushing their crotches together as he whispered into his ear.

“I'd like that Dean but right now I'd rather fuck you hard and fast across this desk.” Dean breathed in sharply at the whispered sentence and pulled Cas' mouth to his, kissing him furiously as Cas pushed him further back onto the desk, knocking files and pens onto the floor and pushing the computer to the side and out of the way.

Through a mess of groping hands and searching kisses, the two of them managed to remove their clothing and Dean was reaching into one of his desk draws and then shoving a condom and bottle of lube into Cas' hand.

He reached out for Cas' cock, pumping it and drawing shallow gasps out of his mouth until his hand was stilled and Cas was flipping Dean over so he was bent over the desk and then a finger was sliding inside of him and then another.

“Fuck, Cas” He breathed out as Cas' fingers moved inside him “Fuck, I need more.”

“Ask for it.” Cas' voice was commanding and Dean hadn't realised how much that could turn him on until now.

“Please” He groaned

“No Dean, say it.” Cas found Dean's prostate and rubbed against it which caused shivers to run through Dean's body.

“Please” He burst out, louder this time “Please fuck me”

Cas removed his hand and leaned forward, his dick pressing against Dean hole, and whispered in his ear “okay” and how he made such an everyday word sound so hot Dean would never understand.

He had to bite into his palm as Cas entered him and a mixture of pain and pleasure shot through his nervous system. It was slow at first, with Cas easing him into it but then he sped it up, pulling Dean further onto him by the hips and Dean was trying to find some grip on the desk as the orgasm built it's way up inside him.

Both men were gasping and moaning as Cas pumped into him and then Dean was coming over the desk and the floor and Cas was coming straight after with Dean's name falling from his lips in a gasp.

Castiel pulled out and Dean stood back up, his legs shaky.

“We should definitely do that again.” Dean grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long for this chapter to come out. For some reason this one was really hard to write and I'm still not thrilled with the result but I hope you enjoyed anyway :) Any comments or criticisms would be great because I'm still pretty new to all this but just thanks for reading really


	7. Chapter 7

Dean reached over Cas to pick up the remote, pulling him closer into his chest as he moved. Takeaway packaging was scattered around the two men who were sat on the sofa, flicking through the channels. 

Dean stopped on the pranking show Trickster. 

“I fucking love this show” He announced and Cas smirked

“I'll be sure to mention that”

“What?” 

“The head trickster in the show, Loki, his real name is Gabriel Novak. He's my brother.” Dean leaned back from Cas, eyes wide.

“Wait, you're telling me you're related to Loki? It would be possible for me to meet him?”

“Well I suppose, if you really wanted to...”

“Of course I'd want to!” Dean had risen to his feet in excitement and was looking down at Cas in awe “Dude's a comedic genius”

“You would say that” the reply came out in a low mutter “you didn't have to grow up with him” Dean roared with laughter and Cas leapt up and tackled him back onto the sofa, remaining on top of him once they were both lying down. He nestled down into his chest and the two men returned to watching the television. 

Dean was hardly paying attention to what was happening in the show, it was something to do with tricking somebody into thinking everyday was Tuesday but he was focusing more on pacing his breaths to match Castiel's. 

Whilst he was registering that Cas' heartbeat sped up as he ran his fingers through hair, he saw something flash in the corner of his eye. He looked over at the TV to see a silver blade embedded in Gabriel's stomach and blood dripping through his fingers. Panic flooded through him and he sat up quickly but the image had vanished and Gabriel was still there, carrying out his tricks.

“Did you see that?” Dean demanded but Cas simply looked confused

“What am I meant to have seen Dean?”

“Um, there was... Never mind.” He settled back onto the sofa and tried to tune back into Cas' breathing pattern but he couldn't get the flash of silver and steady drip of crimson out of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short but I'll hopefully be uploading the next instalment sooner than usual. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed :)


	8. Chapter 8

“Dean, catch!”

Dean span around, the walls of his room blurring around him as he turned, expecting to see some object flying towards him. 

There was nothing there.

No flying object. No person to throw it. His door was still shut and he could hear Cas pottering about in the kitchen preparing himself breakfast. He'd been almost certain that his brother had been shouting to him and at the realisation that he had imagined it, it was fair to say he was pretty freaked. His heart had only just begun to slow from his hallucination the day before and Dean was starting to worry.

He pulled on a tshirt and hurried out of the room, eyes flicking around in search for anything bizarre or out of place but nothing caught his eye.

Cas was stood with his back to the kitchen door as he poured coffee into a couple of mugs. Dean shuffled into the room, quietly placed himself in a chair, and watched his boyfriend. Cas didn't seem at all surprised at Dean's presence in the room, however quiet Dean had planned on being, he simply placed a mug in front of Dean and sat down opposite him. 

They sat in silence at first, lazily sipping on their drinks and shooting subtle glances in each other's direction but after a few moments Cas spoke up.

“What is wrong, Dean?”

Dean looked up from the coffee dregs he was swirling around his mug in surprise to meet concerned blue eyes.

“Nothing, what're you talking about Cas?” He could feel his face contorting as he spoke, forming a cry of I'm lying and he winced at how obvious he was being. He didn't even receive a reply, just an expectant look and he soon crumbled.

“You know, I could swear you have wings right now.” A mildly perplexed head tilt persuaded him to go on. “The past few days I've been seeing shit, hearing things too. It's freaking me out, man. Like you, right now, I can't exactly see it but it's like you're bigger than normal and in some lights, I shit you not, you have wings. Oh god, you're gonna think I'm nuts”

Cas leaned over and placed his hand over Dean's, it was warm and rough and grounding in so many ways that Dean couldn't help but give him a small smile. 

“No Dean, I don't think you're nuts, we will figure out what is happening”

The warmth of gratitude at the lack of judgement pooled in his gut but it was very short lived as an interruption came in the form of a voice.

“Sammy, get the salt. I'm gonna fucking gank this bitch once and for all” 

Dean gasped and scanned the room. How was that possible? That was his voice. Dean's voice calling Sammy's name. And he was saying he was going to kill someone.

“Woah, Dean. It's ok.” In his shock, Dean had leapt to his feet and his eyes were wide and his breathing irregular. Cas had his hands on his shoulders and was gently pushing him back into his seat. “I'm going to heat up some pie, ok? And then you're going to tell me everything that you're seeing”

The eyes that bore into his were sincere and overwhelming so Dean just nodded meekly, feeling embarrassed about his outburst though his heart was still racing and his anxiety was at an all time high. Cas was sliding the pie into the microwave but Dean couldn't find it in him to want to eat. His throat was constricted and he felt ready to throw up at any moment.

He heaved himself out of his seat and set off out the kitchen door,

“And where do you think you're going?” Cas demanded and had it been any other time, Dean would have laughed at his mothering tone.

“Toilet” Dean mumbled before turning his back again on the concerned man in the kitchen and stumbled down the hall and through the bathroom door.

-

The plate in the microwave was spinning and Castiel could not take his eyes off it. He was worried, nail-bitingly worried about Dean. 

From what Cas could tell, it was out of character for Dean to panic so outwardly about something and even more so to share his fears. So what on earth could he be seeing that had frightened him so much? Cas was almost certain that there was a lot more than just wings preying on his mind and he was determined to make it stop. 

He didn't need to know what he saw, just needed to make sure he would be ok. He frowned and wrinkles creased into his forehead. Dean had been gone for too long now and in his current state, Cas wasn't too keen on leaving him alone.

He called out.

No reply.

Rushing out into the hallway, he called out again. 

Silence.

The bathroom door burst open from the force of Cas' shoulder and he stumbled through the doorway but it was empty. The frosted window was still shut, locked from the inside and the lock from the door now hung on its hinges from Cas' violent panic.

He ran out of the bathroom and tore through the apartment, searching every room and shouting for Dean.

All the windows and doors were locked. The keys were in place, shoes neatly placed by the door, coat on hook.

Cas slid down the wall by the front door, confusion and fear swirling in his head, making him dizzy. He didn't understand, there was no way anyone could have left the apartment. Yet Dean was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Dean's eyes blinked open and the world slowly came back into focus.

The ceiling was dark and damp and thick with mould and the floor felt slimy with mud. He shifted slightly and his hand grazed against a crisp packet and a broken beer bottle, he then groaned and began too heave himself up but before he could reach sitting position, a brown boot connected with his shoulder and pinned him to the ground.

He winced with pain and looked up at his attacker and his mind blanked out in shock. A pair of green eyes were staring down at him and Dean knew those eyes well, they looked back at him every day in the mirror. He blinked, but they were still there and he realised he might just have to accept that the man staring down at him was himself.

It took him a moment to remember how to move but now it came back to him and he opened his mouth to speak but before he could make words, a splash of water hit him directly in the face.

Spluttering, he finally managed to speak,

“What the fuck?”

The response was to be shoved further into the ground and the doppelgänger leaned over him, fury etched into his face.

“I could ask you the same question.” he hissed, pulling out a knife and holding it to Dean's throat, “Holy water, silver, salt... none of it has an effect on you. I don't know what you are and I don't like not knowing and I really don't like people using my appearance. You don't want to see me get pissed, so what are you?”

Dean was having an honest to god freak out. He was staring up at himself who was not a reflection and honestly he was kind of frightening. The cold of the knife against his neck was sending shocks of panic through his veins and he didn't realise he was hyperventilating until the man who looked like him had pulled the knife away and taken a step back.

“Fuck” Dean muttered “I'm going fucking nuts”

As he spoke, the door at the back of the room creaked open and a man the size of a mountain walked through.

“Hey, Dean, what did you need me for?”

“Sammy!” Dean called out and his copy glared down at him. Sam stopped in his tracks as he spotted Dean lying on the floor.

“Sammy what is going on?” Dean asked

“You stay away from my brother” the doppelgänger snarled and Dean cowered back from him and looked back at Sammy, or the man who looked like him with pleading eyes, as if he was begging him to explain what was going on.

Sam pulled himself out of his shock and marched over to stand above Dean and stare down at him in confusion.

“What is it?” He asked the other Dean and Dean felt his spirit drop at the confirmation that this was not his Sam and he could feel the panic building up again.

“God knows.” The doppelgänger replied “If I didn't know better I'd say it's a kind of pathetic version of me. But it's our lives so it's obviously more sinister than that.”

“Always is”

“Hey, I'm just a guy. Just an average joe for fuck's sake. Who the fuck are you?” Dean scrambled to his feet as he spoke, and glanced around, scoping for any form of escape route. Both the doppelgänger and Sam took a step forward as he rose and Dean noticed their hands inching towards where he guessed they had guns hidden, judging by their aggressive nature.

He hurried backwards until he felt his back hit the stone of the wall. The only way out of the room seemed to be through the door on the opposite wall and Dean was determined to find his way to it. Without being shot or reaching some other, similar fate.

Just as he started to plan out how to get there, the doppelgänger spoke up.

“We probably should tie him up. I don't know about you but I'm personally not buying the whole 'normal guy' charade.”

-

So Dean found himself sat in the corner with his arms and legs tied together and perfect physical copies of him and his brother staring down at him in confusion and Dean was almost positive that he was entirely crazy.

When Castiel appeared out of nowhere a moment later, Dean was completely positive that he was crazy.

“Holy fucking shit Cas!” Dean burst out and the teleporting Castiel turned to him and squinted as he examined him.

“Hey, Cas!” the doppelgänger called out, ignoring Dean entirely, “Do you know what that is?”

Castiel moved closer to Dean and the resemblance to his own Cas was so remarkable that he got an urge to reach out and cup his face. But the fact that he had just materialised out of nowhere stuck in Dean's mind and stopped him.

“He is you.” Castiel announced and the doppelgänger snorted in disbelief. “But not of this world. Where have you come from?”

Everyone turned expectantly to look at Dean but he couldn't think, everything that had happened within the last hour was clogging up his brain and he couldn't come up with a single coherent thought. Instead of answering he turned to Castiel,

“How the fuck did you do that?”

 

-

 

Cas hadn't moved since he'd noticed Dean had gone. He didn't understand how or where he had gone to and he couldn't imagine a reason for why he had left at that time. He'd stayed sat by the door, head in his hands and thought through every possible explanation. Once he'd run out of ideas, he had moved on to quietly panicking and blaming himself. If he'd only kept a closer eye on him, checked a minute sooner, Dean might still be in the apartment.

Panicking wasn't going to get him anywhere and Cas realised that but he didn't know what else to do. There was nobody he could call about his whereabouts because Dean had his phone and that had all of his contacts on it. He didn't know where he would go or what he would do and he was feeling pretty hopeless.

2 hours and 13 minutes after Cas had noticed the disappearance, there was a knock on the door and hope rushed through his body as he leapt to his feet, opening the door in a record time. But it wasn't Dean on the other side. Rather, an average height female with honey coloured hair who Cas was certain he recognised though it took him a moment to work out from where.

“Bela?” he asked as she marched into the apartment without invitation.

“Where's Dean?” She demanded and a combination of jealousy and fear for his whereabouts spiked in his gut.

“He's not here.” Cas mumbled and she turned and looked at him with a panicked glint in her eyes.

“Where did he go?” She ordered and Castiel could only shrug despondently in reply.

“Shit” She exclaimed “I've fucking missed him haven't I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken a while and isn't the most well edited piece of work but I'm going to do an overall edit when I get to the end. Thanks for reading and I hoped you liked it :) tune in soon (I hope) for the next installment


	10. Chapter 10

Bela was sat on the opposite side of the table to Castiel, a glass of water clasped between her hands and a calculating expression on her face. Her presence was making Cas feel a little nervous but he needed answers and he needed to find Dean.

He cleared his throat, hinting at the woman to explain but she ignored him and remained in her contemplative silence. Cas said nothing, realising she wouldn't tell him anything until she had muddled through what was bothering her and even then it would be a struggle to get her to talk. She didn't seem to be one to share with strangers but Cas would get an explanation out of her whatever it would take.

Whilst they sat opposite each other, Castiel tried to work through what had happened himself but the little he knew could only take him so far and he failed to come to any conclusions. As he thought, a tiny part of him marvelled at how well he was taking this once he had gotten over the initial shock and panic.

After almost 20 minutes of silence, Bela started to get up and Castiel leapt to his feet.

“Where are you going?” He demanded and could see her slight sigh before she opened her mouth to answer.

“I'm going to find Sam Winchester”

“Why?” Bela had put on a pleasant smile as she spoke to Cas but he could still see the gaurded look in her eyes.

“He could be of some help to me. There's nothing for me here anymore” Cas marched across the room and placed himself in front of the door, blocking Bela's exit should she try to leave.

“You're not going anywhere.” he stated “Tell me what's happened to Dean.”

“Have you considered, that maybe, just maybe, Dean left you?”

Cas snorted, “Of course, it's now clear that he ran out on me from within his own bathroom. Your bullshit, as Dean would put it, is not very well thought out.”

“I'm a little on edge at the moment, give me some credit.” Bela smiled at Casb and sat herself back down at the table, “You're clearly not going to let me leave unless I indulge you and I have a little time to spare so I suppose I will tell you what I know.”

Cas moved back over to the table and settled down facing her. He looked at her expectantly and she went on.

“This may be a little troublesome for you to comprehend but this universe isn't the only one out there.” She paused for a moment as Castiel took in the information. Other than slightly frowning for a moment, he showed no reaction and Bela had to admit he was impressed. “More importantly, this universe isn't the one where I belong and I want to get back home.”

Castiel cocked his head at this in confusion. “If you wish to return, why was it Dean who disappeared? Or was he a test subject for you?”

“No, I knew the way back worked, I'm not unprepared. However to get back I needed someone who belongs in both worlds. I knew Dean back home so when I met him here, I knew he would work. It seemed to be my best investment. I just need to work on my timing.”

“Dean has been transported to another universe at your doing? That is your explanation?” He glared at her accusingly but she just smiled in return.

“Right first time.” She said condescendingly and got to her feet again, “But now, I'm leaving.”

“No.” Cas said. Bela continued walking toward the door, ignoring Cas and only stopped at the discovery that the door was locked.

“I should have seen that coming.” She muttered under her breath before turning back to Cas. “Fine, what else do you want to know?”

“I just need you to take me to him.”

“No.”

“Why not?” His voice was almost a growl now and the look in his eyes was one of fury.

“Bad investment.”

Cas simply looked at her, his expression urging her on to explain.

“I need someone with a counterpart in my own universe, ok? I've met Sam there, I know he can get me there, with you however, I don't know it will work.”

“I'll be there too.” Cas stated

“Hmm, I'm not quite inclined to accept your judgement on that one.” She looked pissed off now, tired of the exchange and her gaze kept flicking around the room and scouring for an escape.

“If Dean is there, I will be too.”

“I'm sorry, but how long have you know him for? A few weeks? Months? You aren't Romeo, you hardly know him. And where I'm from, Dean doesn't go for men, you'd be nothing to him there so pull your head out of your arse and unlock the door.”

Cas could feel his guts twisting painfully in protest to her words but he wouldn't let it show, he may be delusional for believing this woman and even considering making her transport him to another universe but all he could think about was the need to make sure Dean was alright.

“It's worth an attempt.”

Bela flung her arms into the air, “Fine! But when it doesn't work, you unlock that door.”

“Deal”

-

The motel room was cold and sparse, the only outstanding features contained within the walls were the four people who were inhabiting it.

Sam Winchester was staring at Dean in amazement as he had been for the past few minutes.

“This is amazing.” He muttered, “There are entire universes out there we know nothing about, think of all we could learn.”

“Yeah,” the man with Dean's face grumbled from the corner “more universes with shit loads of monsters and people who look like me. I hate it when they look like me.”

“Dude, it's not like a shifter, he's still you.” Sam retorted and the doppelgänger sent a glare in his direction.

“Uh, guys, I am here you know. Not deaf either. And do I really have to be tied to a chair?” Dean called out and all the eyes in the room returned to him, he could feel himself heating up under the intensity of the stares.

“You're staying tied up until we know you are what you say you are.” The doppelgänger spat at him and Sam threw him a sympathetic shrug. Castiel looked over with a perplexed expression as the words were spoken.

“Dean, I have confirmed the identity of this man. Do you not trust my judgement?”

An awkward cough came from the man in the corner as he rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding the gaze of the trenchcoat clad man “Of course I do Cas man, just can't be too careful, you know? Fine let him free, what do I care?”

Dean watched the exchange with the hints of a smile on his face, glad to know he and Cas were together in another universe too, it confirmed that their relationship was right for them. As he thought about it, he felt a pang as he remembered he'd left Cas alone in his apartment.

Sam seemed to notice the wistful look on his face as he watched his and Cas' copy and was watching him curiously.

“So, what are me and Cas like where you're from?” Sam asked and Dean thought about it for a moment before replying.

“You're pretty much the same, bit more butch maybe and Cas, well he can't teleport, I think. Haven't been here long though.”

Sam nodded “What do you do? From how you've acted I'm guessing not a hunter.”

“Uh, director of sales in a big business, nothing so violent.”

“Wow, businessman huh?” Sam replied looking across between impressed and amused.

“Yeah, you're a lawyer and a damn good one too. Cas works in the girliest coffee shop I'd ever set eyes on.”

The two men grinned at each other as the other men discussed something quietly across the room.

“Are you and Cas pretty close then?” Sam was smirking as he spoke and Dean almost thought he looked mischievous.

“Well yeah,” Dean rolled his eyes as if it were obvious “It's kind of hard not to be close to someone you're fucking every night.”

Sam's eyes widened before bursting out into laughter, his body shaking as he roared. The doppelgänger was glancing over at them suspiciously as Sam called out “I knew it!”

“Knew what?” He asked, walking over with Cas following close behind. Sam looked over at Dean and managed to put across his message for Dean to explain between his peals of laughter. Dean looked up at the two men and elected to look Cas in the eye as he spoke. He'd gathered that the dynamic wasn't quite the same in this universe. He put on a brilliant smile and stared straight into the blue of Cas,

“I just mentioned the hot sex I have with my version of Cas.” Both men stiffened at the words and Dean could see Sam pissing himself in the corner of his eye. Cas had no emotion on his face but he was holding himself a tiny bit more upright than before, Dean however looked to be a combination of afraid and something else that he couldn't quite place, which Dean thought was pretty crap of him, not being able to work out his own emotions but he felt a bit put out at the clear show that that was not how it worked here.

“We- You- What?” The doppelgänger stuttered out, his face red and eyes refusing to meet those of anyone in the room. “Dude no”

Dean looked at himself in disgust, “Whatever man, you don't know what you're missing out on” He retorted before winking at Cas and grinning when he looked a little more flushed than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this chapter has taken so long to appear. I've had a serious case of writer's block and a general lack of motivation recently but I promise the next chapter won't take so long if it's the last thing I do.
> 
> This chapter has yet to have any editing done to it and I haven't even read back over it yet so I'm sorry if it's awful, I'll check over it some time when it's not 3 in the morning.
> 
> Anyway, I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment after the wait and thanks for reading :)


	11. Chapter 11

“You're fucking with me.” The doppelgänger stated accusingly. Dean grinned, somehow feeling at home teasing the copy of himself which clearly hadn't come to terms with all parts of his life yet. This probably all wasn't real anyway, what was the harm in having a little fun?

“Hey man, don't knock it till you've tried it”

Sam finally managed to pull himself together though he still had a grin plastered across his face and started to untie the bonds that were keeping Dean on the chair and Dean grunted his thanks as he stretched his now free limbs.

“So I guess the question now is,” Sam started, his face sinking into a more solemn expression, “what do we do with you?”

“Find a way to get me home?”

-

_Dean Winchester was honest to god fed up of the weird shit that happened in his life but he was pretty sure that the exact copy of himself that had fallen into his life was one of the weirdest he'd experienced yet. Yes, he'd even go as far as to say weirder than the suicidal teddy bear because this guy was him, he talked and looked exactly like him and judging by how he was acting, he dealt with unknown situations with the same jokey attitude. There were a few differences though, he seemed to be a naturally happier person though that could easily be put down to the differences in their pasts._

_But then there was the thing with Cas. Cas the dude who apparently he was fucking in another universe and through all of his disgust and shock at the concept. There was a tiny part of him that lit up and hoped at the sound of the, ugh, relationship he didn't have. But there's no way in hell he'd actually acknowledge that. Dean was straight and Cas was, well, Cas..._

_Ever since the alternate him had spoken out, Dean had become hyper-aware of Cas within the room and when he noticed the flush spread over his face at the attentions, he felt a slight twisting in his stomach, and a small voice whispered to him that it was stupid to be jealous over Cas' reaction to himself for god's sake. It's not like he cared anyway._

_He wanted this copy gone and this entire day forgotten. He wanted that gloating expression gone from Sam's face and he seriously felt the need to hit something. The cocky, smartass Sam had untied from the chair was positively asking for it._

_“Find a way to get me home?” Yeah, I'd fucking like that too, was Dean's immediate reaction. Before the meaning behind the words sank in. Home. This Dean had a home, a relationship, some monkey suit-money making job. God, he probably had a yappy dog and ate live yoghurt for breakfast too, living the life everyone was meant to want._

_“Fuck this.” He muttered and stormed out the motel room, slamming the door behind him. The concrete floor was cold and the leftover rain was seeping through his jeans but it was still better than the suffocating presence of the perfect version of himself. The smarmy son of a bitch._

_The door of the motel room was opening again and Dean could feel a hovering presence behind him that could only belong to one person._

_“Sit down Cas.” He sighed and the angel dropped down next to him but said nothing._

_“This alternate universe crap is just screaming The Doctor” Dean smiled slightly as he watched Cas' eyes scrunch up as he mulled over Dean's words._

_“What Doctor?”_

_“You're meant to say 'Doctor Who?'” Dean looked over at Cas and rolled his eyes “Never mind.”_

_The sky was dark and the stars covered its face like a smattering of freckles. Dean looked up at it and wondered about how many universes were out there, how many he was happy in and how many he and Cas were together in. He needed to stop with the fucking cliché, Sam could never know._

_“You should probably go back in Cas, I don't care if he's truly me or not, I don't trust him alone with Sammy.”_

_It was clear from the look Cas gave him that he knew Dean was bullshitting but he still stood up without a word, clasped Dean's shoulder for a moment with a tight grip and left Dean alone and buzzing from the warmth still pressed into his shoulder._

_It was completely silent now, almost surreal but Dean liked it, it wasn't often he had a quiet moment between the hunting and is brother's constant proximity. And sure, it wasn't as calming as the growl of the impala or the steady breaths of a sleeping Sammy at night but a moment of quiet whilst others still remained nearby was always welcome._

_Which was why Dean was even more put out when with a clicking sound, a man appeared cross-legged in the parking lot in front of him,_

_“Holy shit!” Dean cursed as the man gasped as he looked around, his pupils widening. After the initial shock, Dean's first thought was 'heh, he looks funny without the trenchcoat' but before he could move onto anything more coherent there was a loud cry of his name and he was being violently hugged. Black hair was tickling his cheek and he could feel a slight rub of stubble against his neck and he could almost feel himself smiling before the cardigan clad man grabbed his face and pressed their foreheads together. All he could see was Cas._

_“Wooah dude..” Dean pulled back, ignoring the confused hurt that swarmed the eyes in front of him. “You got the wrong guy”_

_“But.. Dean?” The way he said his name sounded almost accusatory but with perfect timing the motel door flew open and they weren't alone any more. Dean could almost hear the quiet “oh” as the new arrival set eyes on the other Dean._

_It was only moments before they were holding each other and Dean could only look up at them from before as they kissed, with closed eyes and gentle touches, as if they were so focused on the sensation of each other, they didn't need to look and nobody else was there to them._

_It was a cheesy romcom exchange and Dean felt a little bit sick. Judging by the way Cas had spun on his heels and gone straight back into the motel room, it made him pretty uncomfortable too. And if that made the churning in his stomach just that little bit worse, well it was hardly like he was going to acknowledge it anyway._

-

The spell had been a relatively simple one considering how large the outcome was. Castiel and Bela had sat within a circle of candles on the bathroom floor and some of Cas' hair, a few plants, something slimy that Cas didn't want to know the origin of and a bit of fire seemed to be all it took. Then again, Castiel knew nothing about magic and however hopeful he was, he was still entirely sceptical that anything would come of Bela's bizarre ritual. She had mixed the ingredients gracefully and her recital of some latin incantation was eloquent and the experience made Cas view her as almost ethereal. He didn't like it and he certainly didn't trust her. He was doing what he had to do.

And by some miracle, what he had had to do had worked and he had Dean back in his arms, his own Dean now and that made everything brighter. He didn't know exactly where he was, how he'd get home or the majority of what was happening around him but for the moment he was content with burying his face in Dean's shoulder and imagining they were stood outside the coffee shop at the end of is shift, about to get into that overly loved classic car and go back to Dean's apartment to watch him cook and then lay across the sofa and watch reruns of Dr Sexy or whatever rubbish Dean felt like watching that night, Cas didn't care. For that moment, the thought of it made him smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't proof read this yet, I'll do it tomorrow but I thought I'd share early.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! uwu


	12. Chapter 12

Dean did not like riding in the back of the impala. He could cope with shotgun on occasion but this, this was embarrassing. Even so, he wasn't exactly opposed to the fact he sat between two Castiels, that was kind of hot.

His Cas was curled up against him, head on shoulder whereas teleporting-magic-clone Cas was sat like he had a pole up his ass. So of course he had to point it out to him. Cas only rolled his eyes and continued to sit as he was but Dean thought he heard his own huff of laughter comingfrom the drivers seat, but he'd probably imagined it.

Cas, his Cas, squirmed a little against him and Dean smiled down at him, this whole alternate universe crap seemed easier with him here. However much this magic thing the Cas of this universe had going on intrigued him, he definitely preferred the Cas who's black hair was nestled into his shoulder.

A thought struck Dean and he turned to face the magical being beside him.

“You never explained how you can teleport.” The replying voice was soft and seemed almost shy,

“I am an Angel of the Lord.”

Dean gulped, “Dude no.”

“I was not providing you with incorrect information.” His mind was reeling. What on earth was he meant to make of this? He scoured his brain for something to say, something meaningful or important. All he came out with was “Why aren't you wearing sandals?”

That did get a snort out of the other Dean who finally spoke up “I've always thought we should get him some. Along with a harp and one of those fluffy halos.”

“I am definitely getting you to wear a halo and wings in bed.” Dean murmured into his boyfriend's ear.

Both Cas' were blushing and both Dean's were grinning. Sam lowered his head into his hands and groaned. “There is no fucking way I can deal with all this flirting at once. It was bad enough with just one of each of you.”

A stream of protestations came pouring from the driver's seat and Dean couldn't help notice sadness in the angel's eyes. He placed his hand over the angel's hand and smiled up at him reassuringly,

“He'll come around.” Dean had to whisper so the occupants of the front seats wouldn't hear him. Dean knew himself and he knew that he wasn't ready to deal with his connection with Cas.

“Dean and I share a profound bond,” Not-angel-Cas stated, his eyes trained on the angel “I am certain it transcends our universe. There is hope for you.”

Cas hadn't whispered and the car had falled into silence, the only sound and uncomfortable cough coming from Sam. The words 'profound bond' were ringing around the impala. Doppelgänger-Dean looked utterly shocked, he was staring out the windscreen with wide eyes.

“Is that what you meant before Cas?” There was a hard edge to the voice and Dean recognised it as the voice he used when he was terrified. “When you talked about a profound bond.”

All eye's but the driver's were turned on the angel and Dean felt pride swelling for him at how casual he was managing to seem.

“I was referring to the bond between our souls forged when I raised you from perdition. Not of any romantic intentions.”

“Good.”

Dean decided then that whatever happened, he was going to get these versions of he and Cas together before going home.

-

They were in some kind of bunker apparently but it didn't look like any bunker Dean had seen before. It was huge, filled with books and weapons and all sorts of unusual objects and Dean loved it. When Dean had got out of the impala on arrival he'd almost swooned. They had an entire garage filled with classic cars and motorbikes, he was definitely going to have to try some of those out.

The bunker was what Sam had called it but although Dean could definitely see how it got the name, it felt too much like home for such a title. It was very plain, the walls were bare and the rooms he and Cas had been given (separately, because that was totally going to stick) were simplistic.

They were sat in Dean's temporary room now, just he and Cas quietly talking about what the hell was going on. They were laying next to each other on the bed, each on their separate half though their limbs spilled over to tangle with one and other. Considering they were in some dystopian alternate universe, they were both remarkably calm. _At least here_ Dean thougt to himself _I don't have to work in an office._

Dean stretched out his fingers to clasp hold of Castiel's and he rubbed his thumb over his knuckles.

“We need to come up with a plan.” Dean began and Cas looked into his eyes with curiosity as he slid his hand onto Dean's hip and rubbed circles into it.

“For what?”

“We have to set our other selves up, if for nobody's sake but Sammy's”

Cas laughed and Dean smiled for the sound.

“And for your sake,” Dean continued, “You don't laugh half as much as an angel.”

“You do make me laugh... I suppose you're right.” Cas' hand was moving up beneath Dean's shirt and running over his chest. It was gentle, feather-like touching and it make breathing a damn sight harder.

“Of course I'm right” Dean's smile was cocky and it was only a moment before Cas pressed their lips together and slid his hands up Dean's back.

Cas was lying on top of Dean and after a few minutes of kissing, he pulled off, holding Dean's hands down by the wrists. Dean didn't try to struggle.

“I was so worried about you” Cas whispered, he'd explained to Dean all that Bela had told him, how he'd got there earlier in the day but he hadn't explained the sheer panic and terror at Dean's disappearance and now didn't feel like the time, but he had to say something. “Don't _ever_ disappear on me like that again.”

“Of course” Dean tried to reach up and capture Cas' lips but the restraints on his wrists were holding him down. He growled which only got a gentle laugh out of the man.

Cas pushed the cotton of Dean's shirt up, so softly and intimately that it felt like Cas wasn't touching him at all, but was simply becoming part of him. God, when had Dean become such a cheeseball? Oh, that's right, when Castiel had joined the scene. Dean couldn't find it in him to care, not with Cas' fingers roaming over is torso. Occasionally they brushed over a nipple and he would let out a gasp.

“I don't know what I would have done without you Dean.” Cas' pressed his lips to Dean's collarbone, is lips were soft from Dean's mouth and it tickled. “I feel like I _know_ you. All of you. Like I could take apart your soul and put it back together just as it was.” Okay, Dean took his earlier thought back, _Cas_ was the cheeseball. But that didn't stop the clenching in his stomach, it didn't stop im from wanting to shower him in I to You phrases - _I like you. I need you. I love you._

Well fuck, Dean couldn't believe the L word had passed through his mind. He hadn't know Cas long but it didn't feel as wrong as it should. Dammit, Dean was thinking this and he didn't even have his pants of yet.

Yet being the key word as Cas slowly kissing down his torso now, his tongue flicking over is nipple as he passed, drawing a 100% manly moan out of him. When he reached the waistband of his trousers and popped open the buttons. It was only when his pants had been discarded and Cas was mouthing Dean's cock through his underwear.

“Cas” Lust filled blue eyes met his and it took a lot of effort to not let him have his way with him. Cas' head was cocked to the side and it was obvious he was waiting for Dean to continue what he was saying.

“Cas I want...” The mouth was pressed against Dean's crotch again but the eyes were still trained on his face. He put his hand onto Cas' shoulder, stilling him “Tonight I want it to be about both of us”

Cas was doing his famous squint of confusion and Dean broke into a smile.

“C'mere” He grunted, pulling him gently up by the neck of his shirt. Cas was lying on top of Dean now and Dean pulled his face down to pull him into a kiss. It was slow and lazy but the heat and the tension was definitely there, leading Dean to roll his hips upwards.

Both men gasped, and then started moving at once, grinding their hips together and hands grappling to touch anything, everything. It was clumsy and out of sync but before they could find their rhythm, Dean stopped

“Cas” He groaned “Get your fucking pants off already”

Cas stood up on the bed and pulled of his pants, making a show of it and wiggling his hips as he pulled them down, then came his boxers and then Dean was having his underwear pulled down to his ankles and being straddled and he could feel his dick pressing against Cas'.

“Fuck” he gasped as they started rolling against each other, working in time now and slowly building up speed. They were surrounded by an aura of thick heat and sweat and Dean was starting to feel the the clenching, preparing.

“Fuck Cas, not long now” Cas was clearly in a similar place, his cheeks flushed red and nails digging into Dean's shoulder at every brush of friction. They pressed their foreheads together, mouths inches away but not touching as Cas came. A moment later Deam followed suit, with Cas' name on his lips like a prayer.

A little too like a prayer actually as there was the sound of flapping wings and Castiel, Angel of the Lord materialised in their room.

“Dude what the-?” Dean started but he couldn't even finish his sentence before the angel had disappeared. Dean tried to examine what he would have seen. Both men were only wearing shirts and Dean's had been pushed up so it was no lower than his armpits. Both of them were covered in come and were sweaty and flushed. It was damn hot really, Castiel was a lucky angel.

Cas rolled off of Dean and looked down at himself,

“Uh, Dean, do you have a spare shirt?” Dean laughed, Cas' shirt seemed to have caught the majority of the come but there was still some splattered over Dean's stomach and the bed. Dean pulled his shirt off and then pulled off Cas', he used Cas' to clean himself up and handed his shirt to Cas.

They were part way through getting dressed when there was a knock on the door. Dean opened it, still shirtless, but then he'd given his only top to Cas. It was Sam and he had a pile of clothes and some towels.

“Here, you'll have to share the clothes with Cas, they'll probably be too big but Cas doesn't have changes of clothes so it'll have to do.” Dean took the clothes and nodded his gratitude at his sort-of brother who had a raised eyebrow about Dean's state of partial undress which Dean elected to ignore.

“Wait,” Dean ran over what Sam had said once more “Your Cas doesn't change his clothes ever?”

Sam nodded and Dean wrinkled his nose in disgust

“He can angel mojo them clean, it's not a big deal.”

“That does sound convenient.” Cas put in as he joined Dean in the doorway. Sam's eyebrow raised higher (if that's even fucking possible) at Dean's shirt on Cas. Then he started to look a little uncomfortable.

“Right, well, I'll be in the library if you need me or anything.” He scurried off and left Dean and Cas alone with the clothes and towels. Dean pulled on a led zeppelin tshirt, he had the same one back at home, it even have the same small hole above his left shoulder blade, he noted with surprise.

They left the room hand in hand and decided to map out what they could get to of the bunker. They'd only managed to explore 3 corridors before they bumped into Dean 2.0 and he dragged them to the library and forced them to sit at a table opposite Sam. Dean 2.0 settled next to Sammy.

“Right, this is how it's happening, you tell us how you got here, we listen and then find out how we send you back, got it?”

Dean rolled his eyes but didn't protest, Cas stayed quiet but his alert posture gave away his agreement.

Dean 2.0 didn't seem to care if they agreed or not, it was clear he was getting answers from them one way or another and it was just simpler to go with the easy method.

“We should have Cas here for this, he could help.” Sammy shrugged at his Dean in way of reply and then (Dean didn't know what to call him in his head. Other Dean? Scary Dean? BatDean? Well, he was kind of buff...) started praying

“Hey Cas, we're working on the whole doppelgänger thing and could really do with a hand? So could ya get your ass down here?”

Castiel appeared looking composed and with a neutral expression, the only hint that anything had happened within the last hour was the fact that he would not look at Dean or Cas and was avoiding looking at BatDean (no BatDean was dumb, dorky rather than badass) as much as he could. He sat at the end of the table, next to Sam.

Sam started up the interrogation.

“So, what do you guys know about how you got here?”

Dean let Cas lead the story, he's actually spoken to Bela. It was interesting to watch the reactions of the brothers throughout the story, to see them start at certain names. When Dean mentioned Jo he could swear they looked like they would cry, he decided not to ask, didn't want to know. When they reached the part with Bela both the brothers muttered the word crap under their breath.

“I thought she was in hell, didn't the hell hounds take her years back?”

Dean and Cas both turned to stare at Sam in disbelief. Dean managed to find his voice first,

“You mean literal hell? As is Lucifer's fiery sex dungeon?” Sam winced at the mention of Lucifer but nodded.

“Great, hell is real, I am officially doomed.”

Cas leaned in and whispered into Dean's ear “A sex dungeon doesn't sound to bad. Besides, you look good in red.”

Dean burst out laughing “How did you manage to turn _that_ dirty?”

Everyone else at the table suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable, Dean 2.0's face had turned scarlet and Angel-Cas was examining a bare patch of ceiling.

“Sorry” Dean muttered “Dunno what you're getting all weird about though Cas, you've seen worse.” He winked as the angel made eye contact and then looked away. His Cas kicked him under the table, he too looked embarrassed. It seemed it was only Dean who didn't have the decency to be in some level of obviously uncomfortable.

He didn't see the point in getting embarrassed, it was just a really intricate dream or something.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry this has taken so long. I actually wrote this chapter 2 weeks ago but my laptop broke before I could post this and yeah, sorry

“Y'know Cas you didn't have to flap out on us, you could've joined.” The angel looked so awkward Dean had to hold back a laugh, the other Dean was glaring at him across the table and if he were a lesser person he was sure he would be afraid. As it was he just smirked at his double “I'm not opposed to a little self loving either.”

“Ok, stop. God, your worse than this Dean and I didn't think that was possible. Can we keep all the creepy flirting to a time when I'm far, _far_ away.”

“Sorry, was too good an opportunity to pass up.” Dean apologised, not really feeling sorry.

“Right, now that is over.” Sam looked pointedly at Dean as he spoke, this dream-hallucination or whatever it was was proving itself to be fun “How do we get you two home?”

“Well the obvious solution would be to find Bela and interrogate her rather than us as we now know as little as you.” Cas spoke up and Sam nodded in approval. Trust Cas to come up with the sensible options, Dean smiled at him proudly. God he was such a dork but Cas totally brought it out of him.

“Right, and how do we do that?”

“I am an angel, I can search the surrounding area for this woman.” The angel spoke up for the first time and the two hunters nodded solemnly at the idea. At Castiel's words, a memory of just the day before re-emerged in Dean's mind.

“Dude, angel” He exclaimed, turning to face his partner beside him “That explains the wings.”

Cas' eyes widened in understanding whilst the brother's looked confused however it was Castiel's almighty counterpart who looked the most shocked at the words.

“It is not possible for a human to witness the wings of an angel. They are shrouded within another plain of existence.”

Dean just shrugged, he was in an alternate universe for fuck's sake, he could deal with some impossible wing sighting. His doppelgänger however suddenly flushed red and coughed awkwardly.

“I have, y'know” He paused to cough again and discomfort was bleeding out of him. “seen them.. Once or twice.”

The angel looked stunned, his eyes were wide and body completely still and Dean thought to himself that he looked like one of the characters in the second Harry Potter who'd been petrified and then silently cursed Charlie and Sam for infecting them with their nerdiness.

Castiel faced Dean with a fierce intensity that he hadn't even seen from his own Cas before, it was a combination of terrifying and mildly arousing.

“What else have you seen?” He demanded and Dean thought back to just before he'd been transported to another universe. He doubted hearing the calling of his name was in any way important but the other stuff felt a little more relevant.

“I heard Sam yelling for me to catch something, I heard me saying something about salt and ganking, and,” He paused and turned to look at his Cas and grabbed hold of his hand before continuing “I saw Gabriel being stabbed.”

All the colour drained from Cas' face and his grip on Dean's hand tightened to beyond painful but Dean let him, he hadn't wanted to share the information in front of him and didn't want to see the panic and pain he would be going through now but he was hardly going to let him hear it alone.

“Weird,” Sam commented, not having noticed the reaction the human Cas was having to the news “I don't get why you'd be seeing things that happened years ago.”

At the confirmation that, here, Gabriel was not alive, Cas let out a small whimper that was heard by everyone in the room and they all looked to him, concerned. Dean moved a little closer instinctively and rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand to sooth him.

“Hey, he's fine back home. Your brother is fine, Cas.”

Cas shut his eyes and nodded and the angel looked down at him with a glint of sadness in his eyes.

“I am sorry,” He stated and there was a clear sincerity in his voice which brought Cas' eyes to open. “Many of our siblings in this universe are dead.”

“Anna and Gabriel are my only siblings?” Cas' voice cracked a little as he said his brother's name and both Dean and his doppelgänger seemed to be edging closer to him, the need to comfort him and make it alright was overwhelming.

The angel lowered his head “I too feel sorrow over the loss.” His voice was quiet and Dean's counterpart now moved over to him and placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. The room had become quiet and thick with the serious turn the conversation had taken. They stayed as they were for a moment, each Dean comforting their Cas and Sam looking like he wasn't sure if he should leave. It was only broken when the angel announced he was going to go in search of Bela.

 

-

Bela opened her eyes, the sky above her was almost glowing with starlight. She was lying face down on hard ground and gravel or broken glass was digging into her cheek. She sighed quietly and heaved herself up to see an empty scrapyard, only recognisable by the worn down sign and droppings of metal and rubber that littered the area. She'd expected the ride would be rough without a clear link to herself, riding with someone else was bound to be tough but she hadn't quite expected that.

She looked down at herself and groaned, her clothes were ripped and mud was smeared over every patch of exposed skin. She was unharmed of course, but her hair was a complete mess and more importantly, she didn't know where she was.

Dean's boyfriend would have ended up near himself and although Bela had been thrown off, he couldn't be far away. And she presumed that wherever Castiel had ended up, Dean would be there too. She had to get out of here, a crossing with the Winchesters really wasn't on her agenda tonight. She'd find somewhere to stay, somewhere with a bath if at all possible and move on the next day. Hopefully, the Winchesters would be too busy dealing with their two new housemates to track her down just yet, but then again it would be just her luck that they'd set off straight away. She'd have to do some serious warding.

-

Cas was sat alone on the edge of the bed the Winchester brothers had found for him. Dean was discussing something with Sam somewhere and the other Dean had gone off to his room after answering Cas' questions about praying to angels.

It was simpler than he could have hoped, though it may have been opportune for it to be slightly more complex earlier that day. That would have saved them all a moment of awkwardness. However now he was glad that all he needed to do was talk to the desired angel, this way it would probably be less distressing when he received no reply.

He put his palms together and lowered his head but it felt silly and too much like playing pretend so instead he ended up laying sideways across the bed, knees bent. He took a deep breath and focused on the feel of the air travelling down his wind pipes to calm him before he spoke. When he did, it was tentative.

“Gabriel?” He almost whispered “The others all tell me you're dead, and it hurts but I don't believe them.”

He shifted his position before he continued to being sat cross-legged.

“Whilst we grew up you played the most convincing pranks, you were so good you made a career out of it. You got your own show on prime time television. So if you're an angel, your combined powers and... tricksome mentality could easily allow you to fake death.”

Cas slumped and put his head in his hands, his voice had grown stronger as he'd spoken but now it dropped back down till he could barely hear it himself.

“Please let that be what you did. You're my brother and I truly care about you and need you to be alright. Regardless of universe or incarnation.”

He had to stop speaking for a moment to let out a quiet and muffled sob and blink away the wetness in his eyes.

“I am positive you died for an honourable reason but I refuse to accept you have died at all. You don't have to prove to me that my thoughts are correct but if you wish to, please, do.” He waited, holding his breath for any sound or movement.

All was still. There wasn't even a creaking in the walls or a migration of dust motes to detract from the utter silence. He flopped backwards onto the bed and curled in on himself, wrapped his arms around his legs and stared blankly at the wall ahead.

A few minutes later there was a gentle knock and the door creaked open. He didn't need to look up to know it was Dean and he stayed as he was until the man joined him on the bed and encircled him with his warmth. With the presence of Dean shattering the lonely quiet of the room, he felt himself relax into the other man and the stress and anguish of the day fade as sleep took him over.


	14. Chapter 14

He was certain this was where she had arrived. The scrapyard was crackling with energy and he could sense magic had been done here, but now it was empty, and looked barren in the early afternoon sun. It was clear the landing had been rough, it was impressive in itself that the woman was not lying unconscious where she had appeared.

He shut his eyes and tried to focus on where she could have gone to. When Dean and Sam arrive somewhere new they like to visit a motel, he remembered, that would be a good place to start.

There were 3 motels nearby and the woman, Bela, was not in any of them. He'd flitted into each of the rooms and had mostly been greeted by empty rooms, maybe with an empty bag on a side table, though in a few rooms he'd seen bodies entwined on the beds and he had zapped out of those rooms faster than the others. In one room, a man had been pressed up against the headboard, absent-mindedly caressing himself as he watched something called casa erotica.

Castiel had stopped for a moment and watched curiously. Slowly the man began to pay less attention to the screen and more attention to himself. His movements sped up and eyelids fluttered shut as his head tilted backwards. Castiel found himself entranced by the lustful actions of the stranger though he didn't understand the motives of the man. He was certain lust and the search for pleasure was meant to be rooted in love but the man on the bed did seem to be enjoying himself as his breathing sped up and a quiet sound made its way out of his throat. Is this what Dean did when alone in motel rooms?

Castiel went back to the scrapyard. He wasn't allowed to think those kind of thoughts and was usually far better at stopping himself. It had only happened once or twice and he'd cut it off. He couldn't stop the protective thoughts, or the ones that he was sure Dean would call sappy or girly, but these he had avoided. Or he had until his encounter the day before.

When he'd followed Dean's call into the bedroom he had not been expecting what he saw. Even more so he hadn't been expecting what it had made him feel, it was a combination of want and sadness and a bitter clenching in his stomach.

These feelings, this swarm of emotions that engulfed him when he was around Dean were distracting and infuriating and although they had given him the motivation to do the right thing more than once, they could also be destructive or as happening now, delay him in doing what he needed to do. He focused his thoughts back on Bela. He would find her now and self-reflect later.

After a moment searching, he found that she was not located within any temporary accommodation in the area and began to search private homes. He forced himself to stay objective as he observed the domestic lives of hundreds of people, he didn't want to find himself distracted again.

There was a large house at the edge of the town, white stone and lush gardens with fountains and glistening windows and the roses that lined the main path were bright and full. Castiel looked at them admiringly, they were truly beautiful flowers, but he was getting distracted again and he pulled himself away and entered the house.

Or at least he tried to but he hadn't moved from the spot he was on. When, after trying to enter the house numerous times he was still stood with his feet planted on the gravel path, he accepted that the building must be warded and he had no hope of entering. It meant he had most likely found the location of Bela though, he would collect the Winchesters and bring them here, warding against humans was very unusual. Although, it would be best to find a way to remove the warding before attempting entry.

-

The sigils painting the walls were glowing and Bela cursed to herself, she had been hoping that the Winchesters wouldn't catch on to he whereabouts for a while yet. She swore to herself quietly as she began gathering everything of value she could find, as well as a choice selection of clothing, the owners of the house truly had a poor taste in clothing but she didn't need anything much. By the time she had packed up all the clothing that wasn't decorated with lace or faded floral prints and had a silver dagger slipped into her shoe, the glowing had faded.

It wouldn't be long until they returned though, and Bela didn't know who the Winchesters had sent, only that they weren't human, but she knew that whoever had been here would return with Sam and Dean and she would be as far away as possible when they arrived.

There was a porshe parked in the garage and Bela sank back into the driver's seat with a smile. It wasn't the car that made her feel so at home, but the luxury. She slotted in the key she'd taken from the handbag on the kitchen counter and felt excitement pulse through her as the car purred out of the driveway.

It was foolish to be excited over knowing the Winchesters would soon be in pursuit and Bela knew that, she knew not to underestimate them but it was hard not to feel thrilled knowing that she had something else to worry about than the problem she'd had hanging over her for far too long now.

It was freeing, out on the open road with the countryside flashing by her and she could imagine that she wasn't running for her life from a multitude of enemies but just heading off to sell some magical item to a client in Europe, it was so much simpler back then.

She let the roads lead her way, there was nowhere yet she knew to go other than away so that's where she went, letting the wheels guide her away from the thought of two brothers breaking down the door of a beautiful house and seeing the mess she had left behind.

-

Cas was stuck somewhere between sleep and consciousness when he heard his name, whispered tentatively from behind him. He mumbled as the fuzziness started to fade away and rubbed his hand over his jaw, it was scratchy with unshaven stubble and he wrinkled his nose in annoyance.

A breathy laugh came from Dean as Cas grunted in reply and he whispered to him.

“You awake?”

“I am now.” Cas grumbled but there was no annoyance in his voice, the arms clasped around his waist and the head buried into his shoulder were keeping that at bay.

“What d'you think of all this, y'know, other universe shit?”

It was far too early to be thinking about that sort of thing and Cas' head ached as he searched for some kind of answer.

“I don't know Dean,” he replied somewhat unhelpfully, “It's all very surreal and overwhelming.”

Dean hummed in agreement and snuggled closer into Cas' back, it was warm and Cas wished they could stay lying together like that always. They lay silently for a while and when Dean finally spoke it was so quiet he wasn't sure he'd heard it.

“Cas, I'm scared.”

He rolled over so they were facing each other with their faces only inches apart. He could feel Dean's breath on his cheek and his eyes were so wide and so close they were all he could see. Running his hands through Dean's hair, he waited for him to continue.

“I'm starting to realise all this, maybe it's real after all. What if we don't get back? I won't see Sammy again, or Jo or anyone and you won't see Gabriel and Anna. And it's dangerous here, I don't want anything to happen to you. I can't lose you.”

Cas pressed his forehead against Dean's and placed his hands on either side of his face, wanting Dean to feel his sincerity even if he didn't say anything.

“I'm not going to leave you Dean, you won't lose me.”

Dean shut his eyes and breathed deeply and the frown on his face dissipated as Cas gently pressed their lips together.

“We still might not get home.” Dean said weakly

“We will. I promise you we will.” As he spoke, Cas realised that he believed it.

They smiled at each other and he felt the protectiveness that had been building up in him begin to simmer down and the mood between them became something lighter and less intense. They had started kissing and Cas' hand was running up Dean's side when they were interrupted by a loud rumbling.

Dean chuckled, embarrassed. “Guess I haven't eaten in a while.”

With a laugh, Cas grabbed Dean's hand and led him out of the room in search of food. They wandered around the corridors, occasionally poking their heads round doors to see what was behind them, they were met by bedrooms, storage rooms filled with hundreds of boxes, an artillery which Cas had to physically drag Dean away from and a room that contained only a large marble cube, but no kitchen.

After what felt like hours of wandering, though Cas doubted it had been more than 20 minutes, they finally thought they might be in the right area and they were about to go through an open doorway when they were blocked by Sam.

“I wouldn't go in there if I were you.” He looked strained and tired and mostly fed up. “There'll be hellfire if you get between those two when they get like this.”

There was shouting coming from the room in front of them and it seemed to get louder as it was brought to their attention. There was a loud crashing noise and the sound of glass shattering and Sam sighed.

“If it's food you're after we could go out and get some. It's best to leave them to it.” They nodded in agreement and the three men set off in a search for food.

-

Sam and the universe jumpers were off doing their own thing, sleeping or reading or whatever, and Dean relished in the moment of peace as he sauntered into the kitchen to find himself a beer. Typical really, that Castiel would choose exactly that moment to appear behind him and scare him shitless.

“Dammit Cas, you gotta stop doing that” He gasped out as his heart tried to slow itself back down.

“Apologies.” He mumbled in reply but didn't move back out of his personal space, Dean tried to ignore the fact that he didn't move away himself either.

“I believe I have found the location of Bela but the house is warded. Heavily.” He announced and Dean grinned

“Alright, m'sure we got this, let's go kick some ass.” He was ready to just up and go, he was looking forward to finding a solution to their situation and wasn't about to hang about but Cas stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and he looked serious as he spoke.

“Do you not think it would be wise to find a way to remove the warding before going in weapons first?”

“Yeah I guess you're right, can you do that?”

Cas shook his head solemnly and avoided Dean's eyes as he spoke “I cannot with my current powers, but there is someone who can.”

“Alright, who?”

Dean almost couldn't figure out the name the first time Cas spoke it but when he repeated it there was no doubting what he had said and fury with a hint of fear flooded through him. His hands clenched into fists as he gritted out a reply.

“You want to work with Crowley?”

Castiel looked up to meet Dean's eyes “He's our best chance at getting into that building.”

Dean took a step forward, crowding in on Cas, his eyes hard. “So yes, you do want to work with Crowley, after everything that happened last time.”

“Dean, I'm not going to lie to you again, we just need him to get us in.”

“This isn't about lying, this is about you wanting to work with the guy who's fucked things up for us more times than I can count. He corrupted you Cas, I don't care how useful he is, we're not working with him.” Dean hadn't meant to shout but as the words poured out of him his anger was building and it was hard to keep it in.

“I'm not saying we should trust him, I'm saying we should use him.” He didn't raise his voice but only inches away from Dean's face, the power in Castiel's voice made it sound as loud as Dean's.

“How is he any more powerful than you? What's stopping you from doing it if he can?”

“You are, Dean.” Cas was shouting now too, the words spitting between them “Spending so much time here. Staying so I can help you, here, instead of with my brothers and sisters in heaven, it's weakening me. I can't do this because of _you_.”

As soon as Cas stopped shouting, Dean's fist collided with his face and he allowed himself to be thrown backwards into the table, knocking a glass to the floor. The anger had drained from Dean's face and he looked tired and strained.

“I never asked you to stay.” His voice was quiet now and although he spoke with a softness that wasn't there before, he could tell from Cas' expression that it had hurt a lot more than the shouting. A moment later, Castiel's face was emotionless and blank as he straightened up from where he leant on the table.

“I will collect Sam and then take you to the house, hopefully it won't be warded against humans like it is angels.” And with that he was gone and Dean was left stood in an empty kitchen, feeling like a complete shitbag.

-

The house wasn't warded against anything and the Winchesters broke down the door with ease and Castiel walked silently behind them as they entered. It was dark and quiet and the moment they stepped over the threshold Castiel knew Bela was gone.

“Thought you said this was where she'd be” Dean grumbled as he spun to face Cas accusingly.

“It was,” Cas replied, sighing at Dean's stubborn and argumentative nature. He would die for the man but there was no denying that he could be immature and insufferable. “Had you allowed me to fly us here rather than driving we may have been more likely to find her.”

Dean gave him a dirty look in reply which Cas ignored, everything Dean did was filling him with irritation but there was no point in rising to it.

“We may as well look around, see if she left us any clue to where she went.” Sam interjected after a moment of tense silence and Cas was glad for the change in atmosphere as they began their search of the house.

The living room was the first room they came to and it was untouched, it hardly looked like anyone had spent time in the room at all. The dining room which followed was exactly the same. The bottom floor of the house was a maze of showcase style rooms, everything glistening and carefully placed.

The final room they came to on the bottom floor was the kitchen and like the rest of the house, everything was neatly put away other than an open handbag lying on the side and there wasn't even a smudge of dirt on the floor or sideboards. Although something was different about this room and Castiel was certain something was here. Dean and Sam were about to exit the room to give a sweep of the upper floors before Cas stopped them.

Together they walked round to the other side of the breakfast bar and were met with a pool of blood. They were presumably the owners of the house, they were dressed in expensive clothes that were now torn and splattered with red.

The two women were lying on their fronts, curled hair covering their faces and it wasn't until Dean turned one of them onto their back that the extent of the damage could be seen. A hole had been ripped, not only through the silken fabric of the blouse but through the woman's chest. Castiel was the only one to stay impassive as the gaping space where the heart had been was revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've managed to get a little confused myself while writing this so if there's any confusion about which character is which (having two Deans and two Cas' is hard) then please tell me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway :)


	15. Chapter 15

The diner was small and empty other than the two men huddled around the table in the corner, plates of burgers and fries left abandoned half finished as they talked in hushed voices. Though the topic of their conversation could not be heard, the waitress kept casting odd glances over to their table. 

It wasn't unusual to get gay couples in the diner, nor was it unusual for customers to have quiet and bizarre conversations but she could swear there had been a third man there only seconds ago. It was possible she was going mad, in fact that was the only possible solution, because there was no way the man had been teleported away somehow. She must have zoned out for a second and he'd left without her noticing, that'll be it. 

Even so, the disappearance of the man had sparked her curiosity and although it was unprofessional and would be embarrassing to say the least if she was caught, she found herself shifting towards the customers. It didn't count as eavesdropping if it was in public, did it?

The men were talking in deep, low voices so it took a moment of straining for her to figure out what was being said, and when she could work out the words she still couldn't make sense of it.

“Do you think they'll find her? Might we be going home?” The darker haired man whispered and that might have been hope in his eyes but she couldn't quite tell from where she was leaning against the counter. 

“God knows, haven't known a damn sensible thing since we got here. Knowing our luck she'll be dead and we'll be stuck here forever.” the man with his back to the counter replied.

“Don't say that Dean, we're going home.”

“We got here through witchcraft. Witchcraft Cas. How can you be sure of anything? Or is it because of your angelic powers oh mighty one?”

Ok, so this guy was clearly crazy but although his companion narrowed his eyes with irritation, he responded with sincerity.

“Don't be an ass Dean, you know I am not the angel, that is my counterpart.”

Alright, both were nuts then, completely off their rockers. The Dean guy was about to speak but the waitress could listen no more as a call came for her from the kitchen.

“Samira!”

Reluctantly, Samira heaved herself up off the counter and headed over to the kitchen, leaving the conversation between the two men behind her. When she entered the kitchen her boss was waiting for her and she had to sit through 10 minutes of instructions for closing up when her boss was away. It was basic instruction and she knew it all already and her mind kept wandering to the conversation going on in the diner.

Where were the men from? Who was the woman they were looking for? What did they mean about witchcraft and angels? 

It seemed to take forever but finally she was dismissed and could go back to her station at the counter. She immediately went back to her previous spot, hoping to catch the rest of what the men were saying but the scene had changed since she was last there. 

There were now five men sat around the table. One of the new arrivals was the man who'd been sat at the table earlier but the two others were exact replicas of the men she had been listening in to. They must be twins, she thought, but how odd to get two pairs at once. 

The original pair didn't look happy now their new companions had arrived and had both reached a sickly shade of pale and there seemed to be pure horror in the blue eyes of, was it Cas the other had called him?

“She'd killed them?” he muttered and Samira felt something twist in her stomach as she realised that maybe she was hearing something a little more serious than she'd bargained for. “You mean we're hunting down a murderer?”

Dean's twin shrugged at the man “We've hunted down far worse than some chick with a gun, hell, we've done worse than her.”

The long haired and, to think of it, kind of handsome man spoke up “It doesn't make sense though, killing like this just isn't Bela's style. Sure she got her parents killed but she got someone else to do that for her.” Well, he might be attractive but she sure as hell wasn't going to attempt to go for a guy who was most likely a murderer. She may have a bad history with men but even she was not that stupid. “Not to mention, they weren't killed with a gun, their hearts were ripped out. Either it was something else or she has changed. We don't know what we're dealing with.”

Samira was shaking and she could feel the urge to throw up growing. She had not signed up for ripped out hearts when she'd started listening to this conversation and the presence of the potential murderers and definite psychopaths in the diner was filling her with fear and apprehension. Though she couldn't deny this had been the most thrilling day of work in the diner so far.

Sneaking into the kitchen she pulled out her phone and typed in 911, ignoring the curious looks the cook was throwing her. The second it was answered she rushed out the address and what she had heard. After she'd been told to stay put and someone was on their way, she hung up the phone as the bell on the counter was rung. 

Panic flooded through her as she debated with herself whether it was safer to remain hiding in the kitchen or to go out and pretend she hadn't heard a thing. Judging on what they'd been saying, they weren't planning to make a scene so as long as they didn't see her as a threat she'd probably be safe. She hoped.

Still, if she didn't go out then they'd know something was up and she felt she should stall them till the police arrived, it wasn't fair to let them get away and some innocent person get hurt. Damning her sense of moral responsibility, she took a deep breath and walked out the kitchen door with a forced smile on her face. All she could do was hope it didn't look too fake.

The man leaning against the counter had short hair and green eyes and was either Dean or his brother, she couldn't tell which. As she walked towards him he looked her up and down and threw her a flirty smile, he was the brother then, Dean was most definitely gay. Or at least so smitten with his Cas friend he wouldn't be checking out waitresses. 

“How can I help you?” Samira managed to get out and her voice wasn't shaking too much, she thought. If all went to plan, the man would never tell that her heart was pumping at twice the normal speed and adrenaline was shooting through her. The fight or flight response was hard to resist in a situation this tense.

“Two burgers with fries and... do you do pie?” His eyes lit up when he said the word pie and Samira sent thanks to the gods that they had it on the menu because she had no desire to cause any of them upset. This was going to be such a great story to tell her brother next time she visited home, so much better than the one about the woman who refused to pay until they all addressed her as your majesty. Whoever said waitressing was dull work?

“It'll be right up, sir” She smiled at the man and quickly retreated back towards the kitchen door. She was about to go back and hide until the police arrived when the door to the diner opened and a tall woman in police uniform walked through.

Samira stopped for a moment, relief spreading through her at the sight of the police officer eyeing up the suspicious customers. One of the darker haired men, the one who sat up straight and wore a suit with a tan trenchcoat suddenly looked up and stiffened and Samira found herself surprised that he could get any more tense than he had already looked.

“Winchesters.” The police officer hissed out and the rest of the group looked up with wide eyes. They must have been wanted criminals, for the police to know them at sight, at least that's how it seemed until the trenchcoat wearing man said the word 'demon' and placed his hands on the shoulders of the two men closest to him and disappeared into thin air.

Samira barely had time to gasp in shock before he was back and placing his hands on the other two men. The policewoman moved towards them but before she could reach the table they were gone. There was a moment of silence where neither woman moved or even breathed heavily but then Samira could keep quiet no longer and she choked out a single word.

“...How?”

The policewoman turned towards her slowly and she had a worrying glint in her eye.

“You were the girl who called in, right? You overheard them talking?”

Samira could only nod as the woman moved behind the counter and kept coming closer till they were practically breathing the same air. 

“Perfect.”

The woman smiled and her eyes seemed to flash black as she pressed her hand against Samira's mouth and pulled something down over her head.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry this took so long! I've been utterly useless recently but I promise I will speed up with these chapters, I'm gonna be aiming to do at least one a week from now

If Sam didn't know better he'd say Dean was sulking, in fact scratch that, Dean was definitely sulking. Whether it was about the demon in the diner or something else he couldn't be sure but he would bet anything that it had a lot to do with the peculiar couple that had stumbled into their lives.

Since they'd returned from the diner, Dean had gone straight to his room without saying a word and Cas had disappeared to god knows where leaving Sam and the others sat awkwardly in the library. 

But honestly, he'd thought it would be weirder, seeing his brother and the angel as a couple, even if it wasn't exactly them but it just seemed... right. In fact, when he thought about it, it seemed like the logical course of their relationship, their friendship had always been a little closer than that between Castiel and Sam but he'd never thought anything of it. That was just the way they were. 

Sitting back in his chair, he looked over the couple who had sat down on the other side of the table to him and noted they weren't sitting any closer together than his Dean and Cas do. If it weren't for the lack of trenchcoat it would seem no different to any other day from the last few months. 

“Huh” he thought to himself and decided that maybe getting his brother and the angel together was the best way forward. His brother would be happy, he'd get the love he needs but wouldn't risk losing any more than he already had, wouldn't endanger a person he loved by dragging them into his life, because Cas was already here. It fitted perfectly and Sam had to muffle the faint pangs of jealousy at the possibilities Dean had, it was settled in Sam's mind, Dean and Castiel needed to be together if only to give Sam the hope that maybe he could be happy too. 

All that was left was to come up with and carry out a plan, and of course figure out what on earth was going on with Bela and the demon and the doppelgängers from another damn universe and fix it all but at that moment, that was far from the front of Sam's mind. It was nice to have something not life threatening to think about once in a while.

This was an area Sam was perfectly ok with asking for help with, he had no clue how to be a matchmaker but luckily for him he had two people with all the insight he needed into his subject's minds.

“I need your help,” Sam announced and the couple looked up at him and waited for him to continue, “This whole thing with my brother and Cas, uh, other Cas, is getting ridiculous.”

Cas grinned and Sam thought to himself that it was a peculiar look on him but it was certainly an improvement on the permanent scowl Sam was used to seeing.

“We've been thinking the exact same thing.”

“I was gonna go with lock them in a room and not let them out till they give in cause that'd definitely work on me-”

“That does sound like an ideal solution” Cas offered.

“-but your Cas'll just flap out”

“Not necessarily...” Sam trailed off and a plan started forming in his head.

-

“Why do I have to call the grumpy angel?” Dean grumbled which gained him a glare from his boyfriend.

“You're the only one who Cas will definitely turn up for and we can't let Dean know yet, now just do it.” Sam responded

“This whole thing is too fucking weird, man.” He grumbled but continued anyway, “uh, Cas buddy, you up there? Can you get your ass down here? I need to talk to you.”

A moment of silence followed in which they all held their breath, waiting for the angel to appear. When he finally did in a rustling of feathers, Sam noticed the others jumping at his sudden appearance and realised how plain odd it was that he was used to his friend appearing out of nowhere.

“What is it you needed to tell me?” Castiel demanded, straight to business as usual and Sam, Dean and Cas quickly backed out of the room and shut the door.

“Sorry Cas!” Sam called out “You'll thank us later”

“Are you sure those sigils will work?” Dean asked and Sam shrugged.

“They always have before.”

“Sam, let me out of this room.” Castiel called out, his voice filled with power and a tinge of anger that made Dean shudder and Cas smirk to himself.

“Right, time to get Dean” 

-

Dean was lying on his bed with headphones on and it took a lot of banging on the door for him to realise that Sam was trying to get his attention. When he finally noticed he groaned and heaved himself up off the bed and to the door.

“What do you want?” He grunted at his brother.

“I think I've found something you'll want to see.” Sam responded and Dean felt a flare of hope that it would be a way of getting rid of those two freaks they were currently playing house with.

He followed his brother down the passages until they reached the door of a room that, if he could remember correctly, was a storage room. Sam had been walking at twice the speed of Dean so he was already waiting at the door, fingers clutched around the handle.

“Ready?” Sam asked and Dean nodded, hoping it wasn't going to be anything he'd need a weapon for cause he'd left his gun on the bedside table and the only thing he had on him was the small knife tucked into his shoe. 

As soon as the door opened Dean felt himself being pushed forward and heard the door slam behind him. What the hell? Heaving himself up from where he had fallen, he was met with a face full of angel and the realisation of what had happened hit him. Of course those dicks would give Sam ideas about him and Cas. He was going to kill both Sam and the freaking doppelgänger couple the second he got out of the room.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” He muttered, mostly to himself, to which Cas did his obligatory head tilt but for once it didn't fill Dean with fondness, just anger that anyone could think it might. 

He knew it wouldn't work, Sammy wasn't that much of an idiot but he had to try the door but as expected, it wouldn't open, not even when he tried his lock-pick and by looking at the symbols on the walls he could see that Cas' angel powers wouldn't be any help. Giving up, he slid down the door in resignation and rested his head against it, it seemed like they were going to be there for a while.


	17. Chapter 17

They'd been stuck in the store room for half an hour now and Dean was bored. Cas wasn't speaking to him, apparently staring at a blank bit of wall was a far more interesting pastime than conversing with Dean, but then Dean couldn't really blame him, not after what Dean had said earlier.

When Cas had told him he was losing some of his power Dean had been shocked. Finding out that to Cas, Dean was more important than his angelic powers made Dean need to stop and think, but Dean didn't do that sort of thing. No, that would be the smart thing to do. So instead he lashed out, said something he didn't mean and hurt his best friend. Go figure.

So no, he didn't blame Cas for ignoring him but he also wasn't prepared to apologise just yet. It took a much larger dosage of guilt and shame for Dean to express any form of emotion, apologies included. Sitting in complete silence though, with a sullen angel in an empty room, was starting to get to him and he soon found himself drumming his hands against his legs and humming along.

Cas inhaled sharply, glaring at Dean and Dean thought to himself that Sam must have been giving him lessons in bitchface 101. It successfully quietened him though and left him back in the silence with just his thoughts. 

Maybe he should apologise, or at least just bring the argument back up. Some talking would be better than none and if he got Cas really riled up, he might do the thing where he gets really close and his eyes get really bright and it couldn't be denied that Cas was fucking hot when he got angry. Wait a minute, Dean caught himself, yes it could definitely be denied and it would be. 

He looked over at Cas and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that he was still staring at his patch of wall, he hadn't given away any sign of where his thoughts had been heading.

Absent-mindedly he started up the drumming again and ignored the looks Cas was shooting him, he was pretty sure he'd go mad unless one of them spoke soon as the tension was getting strong enough Dean imagined he could taste it. It tasted of miscommunication and regret.

Groaning, he dropped his head back against the wall and the thump it made was hollow. Cas sighed again.

“Fuck,” Dean muttered whilst jumping to his feet “I cannot fucking deal with this”

He stormed over to the door and kicked it, his toes protested but he did it again and coupled it with banging his fist.

“Sammy, let me out or I swear to god I will kick your ass!”

He was met with silence and after thumping the door a few more times he gave up. Knowing his luck Sam would have gone and left Dean to rot in this room with an angel who wouldn't talk to him. He supposed at least once he died he'd be able to get away from this pressing silence between them but Cas was immortal, he'd be eternally stuck with Dean's rotting corpse and although for a fraction of a moment that filled Dean with a vindictive glee, he wouldn't actually want that for Cas. He was his best friend after all. 

Ok, he conceded, it was about time he apologised for his asshole behaviour. 

Dammit, he didn't want to do this and how could he even start to apologise. 'Oh hey, sorry I basically told you that you mean nothing to me even though you're the most important thing in my life besides Sammy'? No, he didn't think so. Or how about 'Sorry for being so emotionally stunted that I can't even admit to myself how much you mean to me, let alone tell you'? Definitely not, that was far too close to home.

Before he could come up with anything that would express what he meant without him actually having to express anything, Cas surprised him by speaking first.

“I shouldn't have suggested we go to Crowley.” His voice was less monotone than usual and it was all that was needed for Dean to understand that this was Cas' apology. He let out a breath of relief that he wouldn't have to apologise first and only felt a little guilty about that. 

“No you shouldn't,” Dean muttered back “But I guess it made sense.”

Cas seemed surprised at Dean's acceptance and to be honest, Dean was kind of surprised too.

“I'm sorry you don't feel you can trust me.” Cas said 

Dean did a mental double take, not only at what Castiel had said but at the unsure and pleading tone in his voice. Did Cas really believe Dean didn't trust him? Sure, for a while after him spending time as a purgatory pick 'n mix he'd found it hard but the joy at having Cas back again had outweighed it in the end.

“Cas,” He murmured, and he wasn't going to ponder on the tone he heard in his own voice for fear of understanding it, “we've all made mistakes, you, me, and Sammy and you've proved yourself more than deserving of my trust.”

If the look on Cas' face was anything to go by, he got what Dean was trying to say.

They sank back into silence, Cas going back to staring at his patch of wall and Dean absent-mindedly watching the minuscule movements in Cas' face as each new thought passed through his mind. They stayed that way for a while, each lost in their own thoughts until Dean practically whispered the words he felt were the most important that Cas should hear, but wanted to say the least. 

“I always want you to stay.”

Cas met Dean's eyes and his face was filled with shock, relief and.. the word adoration briefly passed through Dean's mind but he pushed it as far away as it could go. It was a ridiculous thought. 

Cas strode across the room to sit on the floor next to where Dean was sat and placed his hand on his shoulder. Dean could feel his heartbeat triple in speed and whether it was out of fear or anticipation he couldn't tell, it was probably a little bit of both.

He focused on his heart, trying to get it to slow as Cas would probably be able to hear it but Cas didn't move and Dean's heartbeat didn't slow and he was entirely locked in the angel's gaze. He wasn't completely sure it had happened but he had a vague notion that he had leaned in just the tiniest bit but why he had was lost on him.

Praise the lord, it was at this moment that the door to the room burst open and Sam rushed in with wild eyes. 

“Someone's gotten into the bunker. Someone not good.”


	18. Chapter 18

Sam rushed Dean and Castiel down one of the corridors and they followed dutifully, all thoughts of the almost moment they had shared gone in the face of the invasion into their home.

“I left the others in the artillery whilst I came and got you guys but I'm gonna take them to the dungeon, they'll probably be safer there than anywhere else.” Sam said over his shoulder.

“Good thinking,” Dean responded.

Moments later they arrived at the artillery and Sam barged through the door, calling out to make sure everyone in there was safe. Three voices called back in confirmation.

Dean stiffened at the sound of the feminine voice which sounded amongst the two males he had expected and he unconsciously reached out and grabbed a machete off the wall but he relaxed when he saw the source of the voice.

“Charlie, what the hell are you doing here?” Dean demanded, and the relief at the voice belonging to her was replaced with worry as he remembered the situation they were in.

“Sam told me about all the other universe stuff and there was no way I was missing out on meeting your lovebird doubles, besides I wanted to see how the plan worked out. I may have chosen the wrong time though.”

Dean dropped the machete on the side, walked over and threw his arms around her and she reciprocated the hug enthusiastically.

“You'd better stay safe, you hear me?” He muttered into her hair. When Dean turned back to Sam, he was in hunter mode. “Alright, what's here, how did they find us and how do we kill them?”

“We think it's Bela and a few cronies, I'm thinking demons but can't be certain. Bela we just have to capture, find out what she wants and how she got a bunch of demons to work for her and as for how they found us I don't know, they might have followed Charlie here but we were careful she wasn't followed.”

Dean nodded and looked around for something he could use against demons but before he could make any progress, Cas disappeared and returned holding the angel blade that had been lying on his bedside table. He nodded to Cas in thanks.

“Cas take these guys to the dungeon and make sure they're safe before joining us” Dean told the angel, “Me and Sam'll head out and try stop these fuckers before they get what they're looking for.”

He grabbed a few bags of salt off one of the tables lining the walls and threw one each to Charlie, and the other Dean and Cas. Sam passed them each a bottle of holy water.

“Charlie you know what to do.” Dean shot over his shoulder before he and Sam left the room.

Castiel turned to the three humans and thought they all looked so small and afraid. He'd always seen Dean and Sam as his equals but this Dean was inexperienced and he seemed so helpless. The contrast between himself and this human Castiel was even more clear to him, although maybe that was only in his eyes. He'd never met the redhead before but he could see the fear written over her entire being.

He moved towards them, ready to fly them to safety so he could join the brothers but before he had the chance Dean spoke up.

“Whether we're hiding away or not I think we should have weapons.”

“Yes, I at least want a knife.” Cas agreed.

“Screw knives, I don't want to get that close. Gimme a gun, though a sword would be cool...” Charlie put in, and went and plucked a handgun off the wall. The other two followed and Castiel let them, the guns would be useless against demons but if it made them feel safe then there was no problem with indulging them.

He didn't warn them before placing his hands on the shoulders of Charlie and Dean and taking them immediately to the dungeon. He ignored their exclamations of shock and anger and collected the last of the group. With them out of the way he could find the others and make sure he had their backs.

-

It only took five minutes of being in the locked dungeon for Dean to get very restless. Charlie and Cas were sat with their backs against the wall, watching Dean pace backwards and forwards in front of the door. He twirled a chain with a key on it between his fingers as he walked which left thin red marks on his hand from pulling it too tight.

There hadn't been any sound from outside the room and the uncertainty was making them all anxious and on edge. Dean kept pacing. With each step, the key he was swinging clinked against the chain wrapped around his palm and it clinked over and over again as he went backwards and forwards.

Cas stood and wrenched the key out of Dean's hand then slammed it down onto the table and was met with the full force of Dean's glare. He sat back down next to Charlie and the moment he was down, Dean picked the key back up and went back to his pacing

“Dean.” Cas growled

“What?” He responded whilst spinning round angrily so they were facing each other.

“Will you _please_ sit down?”

Groaning loudly, Dean dropped to the floor and for a moment the room was filled with a cold silence. Charlie looked between the two men incredulously then leaned over to Cas.

“You have him so whipped.” she stage whispered. Cas burst out laughing and Charlie quickly joined in when she saw Dean flush bright red and grumble,

“I am not whipped.”

“Suuuure you're not..” Charlie teased and even Dean had to break out a smile.

“Whole other universe but you stay exactly the same.”

“I like to be consistent. Speaking of this other me, do I have a girlfriend over there?”

“Last time I checked you were seeing a girl called Gilda, I dunno if she'd count as a girlfriend though.” Charlie's eyes brightened at the name and Dean presumed she knew her here too.

“Gilda the fairy?” She asked hopefully and Dean decided not to question it.

“Yeah, the fairy, why not?”

Suddenly there was a loud crash from outside coupled with a distant shout and the three of them stopped grinning at each other as they remembered where they were and what was going on. Dean started swinging the key again but this time nobody complained.

None of them spoke as they all strained their ears for a clue of what was going on in the rest of the bunker and after a few minutes of nothing they heard a pained cry that they all recognised to have come from Castiel.

“Fuck” Dean whispered as he leapt up off the floor.

“Dean, what are you doing?” Cas asked, voice laced with worry but Dean did not reply. Instead he marched over, kissed Charlie on the forehead and then pressed his lips against Cas'. When he pulled away Cas was pretty sure he heard a quiet 'I love you'.

Dean didn't say anything more to either of them as he slipped a bottle of holy water into his pocket, grabbed his gun and unlocked the door with the key Castiel had left in case of emergency. Both Cas and Charlie called out to stop him and started scrambling to their feet but Dean paid them no notice as he walked out, threw the key to them over his shoulder and let the door slam shut behind him.

Startled, the two people left in the room turned to each other, nodded and followed Dean out.

 

When the two of them reached the corridor it was empty and eerily quiet and they instinctively raised their guns so they were ready to shoot anything they came across. They stuck to the walls, the way they'd seen in a million different films and however terrified she was, Charlie couldn't deny this this was incredibly cool.

They kept moving down the corridors as quietly as they could but they didn't come across anyone, not Dean or Bela or a demon or anyone but when they reached the end of the fifth corridor they went down, they spotted a door to a room that had been left ajar and voices were pouring out of it.

“What happened to you? You were always cold but you were never this cruel.”

Charlie could just make out the two people in the room through the open door and Cas peered above her so could see too.

The person who had spoken was Dean, but it wasn't the Dean they had followed out of the dungeon, he had his back to them but his confident stance as well as his clothing choice gave him away. The other occupant, whose face they could make out clear as day was Bela and Cas whispered who it was into Charlie's ear.

“Hell changes people Dean, you of all people should know that.” Bela replied and as she spoke her eyes flashed black.

Cas stuffed his hand into his mouth to stop himself gasping out loud and revealing their whereabouts but Charlie wasn't quick enough and if it wasn't for Dean's timely usage of the word 'fuck' they would have been done for.

“Great, so you're a demon. Can I ask how?” Dean asked

“Do you want the full story?” Bela leaned casually against the cabinet behind her and Cas thought her British accent sounded much colder now he knew what she was. Dean shrugged.

“I've got time.”

“Well you asked for it.” She warned, before launching into her story.

“It all started when you left me to rot in hell. And of course you think you know all about what it's like down there but you were in hell for 40 years, Dean, I was in there for centuries.

But you know me, I'm not one for charity and the first day I was given the offer of changing roles I picked up that blade in an instant. And I was good at it, I worked my way up the hierarchy of torturers, but one day, it stopped going so well.

There was a man, I'd worked on him for years, hurt him in all the most creative ways I could think of but he got strong, turned on me.”

She stopped talking and smiled weakly.

“It was almost like he didn't appreciate all I'd done for him. So I ran away, left hell, bribed a witch into helping me get my body back. It seemed safer in another universe but he was finding his way through and there was no magic there to protect me, so I came back and here I am.”

“Well,” Dean said, once he'd taken in Bela's monologue “as heart wrenching as that story was, I'm gonna have to kill you now. No hard feelings?”

Bela laughed as Dean lunged towards her, angel blade in hand and threw him away from her. He crashed into the wall on the other side of the room and all the air shot out of his body at the collision.

He heaved himself up and tried again, a little less enthusiastically but she threw him off again and this time his head cracked against the edge of a cupboard and he fell to the floor unconscious.

“Oh Dean,” She murmured, standing above him. “You're lucky, I don't want your brother coming after me so I'm going to let you live. “I've got what I came for anyway.”

Charlie and Cas rushed away from the door and slipped into an empty room when Bela started to walk towards the exit and they held their breaths as they listened to her footsteps pass them. Though the footsteps themselves were feminine and quiet, to the two of them it sounded like an army.

-

Bela settled back on the expensive leather sofa and toed off her shoes. One of the demons ran over immediately and took them to put away. She'd had a number of demon supporters for a while but it always surprised her how willing these supposedly formidable beings were to do anything she asked of them.

By nature she had no powers or strength that put her above any of them other than strength of will and cunning yet they continued to do everything for her, including putting away her shoes.

She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, the house she'd taken this time was particularly extravagant and the very air tasted like money. She couldn't get enough of it. The silk sheets, original art from world renowned artists and furniture made from illegally imported Rosewood made her feel right at home.

The door slammed open and a demon walked in, dragging a man in behind him who was struggling to get out of the ropes he was tied in.

Bela stood back up, immediately regretting the removal of her shoes as she didn't look nearly as professional without them. She supposed the man probably wouldn't even notice anyway.

She walked up to the man who had been pushed forward to stand before her. She smiled and reached out to cup his face with her hand.

“Oh Dean, you just don't live up to the expectations of this universe, do you?” Her smile turned mischievous as she paused,

“Are you ready for that date now?”


End file.
